President John Dramani Mahama has called for a fundamental rethinking of global alliances, urging world leaders to move beyond outdated blocs and rivalries towards partnerships grounded in solidarity, shared responsibility, and collective progress.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit 2026 in Dubai, President Mahama told an audience of heads of state, leaders of international organisations, and policymakers that the world is at a defining moment shaped by rapid transformation, shifting geopolitics and deep global interconnectedness.
According to him, the critical question confronting the international community is no longer whether alliances will endure, but whether they can evolve quickly enough to respond to today’s complex global challenges.
President Mahama noted that traditional alliances were largely forged in response to military confrontations, geopolitical rivalries and economic competition.
However, he argued that such frameworks are increasingly inadequate in an era defined by climate change, food and energy insecurity, terrorism, global health threats, fragile supply chains, technological disruption and widening inequality.
“These challenges do not respect borders and cannot be solved through unilateral action,” he stressed, adding that cooperation is no longer optional but an imperative.
A major focus of President Mahama’s address was Africa’s rising strategic importance in shaping the future global order.
He rejected narratives that portray the continent merely as a theatre for global competition, instead positioning Africa as a source of solutions, opportunities, and growing influence.
With the world’s youngest population, vast natural resources, expanding innovation ecosystems, and a market of over 1.3 billion people, he said Africa will play a decisive role in shaping the global economy of the 21st century.
For this reason, he argued, future global alliances cannot be meaningfully designed without Africa at the table.
President Mahama emphasised that Africa is open to partnerships not only for trade but for transformation alliances that build industries, strengthen supply chains, and create shared prosperity.
He highlighted the Accra Reset initiative, convened across Accra, New York and Davos, as a roadmap for transitioning Africa from aid dependence to trade-driven and investment-led global partnerships.
At the same time, he acknowledged the need for Africa to reset internally, stressing that accountable governance, transparency, strong institutions, respect for human rights and selfless leadership are essential foundations for credible and sustainable alliances.
Touching on Ghana’s domestic reforms, President Mahama outlined his government’s commitment to ensuring that Africa’s natural resources generate real economic value for its people.
He cited the establishment of the Goldbod, which he said had generated over US$10 billion in less than a year, as evidence of Ghana’s push for greater resource sovereignty and value addition.
Ghana’s medium to long-term vision, he explained, is to process and add value to minerals and agricultural products including gold, manganese, bauxite, lithium, petroleum, cocoa, oil palm, cashew, cassava, fruits and soya rather than exporting raw materials.
He also praised the growing Ghana–UAE and broader Africa–Gulf partnerships, describing them as an emerging pillar of the new global order and a model for mutually beneficial economic diplomacy.
President Mahama warned that development cannot be sustained without peace, particularly in West Africa, where terrorism and instability in parts of the Sahel continue to pose serious threats.
He reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to regional peace and democratic stability through ECOWAS, stressing that security in the sub-region is indivisible.
He revealed that Ghana recently convened a High-Level Consultative Conference on Regional Cooperation and Security in late January 2026, bringing together heads of state and regional institutions.
The meeting, he said, produced renewed consensus on collective security, counter-terrorism, border cooperation, humanitarian response and human-centred governance as foundations for lasting peace in West Africa.
Looking to the future, President Mahama highlighted the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and digital systems, cautioning that governance has not kept pace with innovation.
While acknowledging Ghana’s progress in digital transformation through mobile financial services, national identification systems, and e-governance, he warned against a digital future dominated by a few privileged nations.
Future alliances, he said, must promote ethical AI governance, cybersecurity cooperation, technology transfer, and inclusive digital capacity-building to prevent new forms of inequality.
On climate change, President Mahama underscored the injustice facing Africa, which contributes the least to global emissions yet suffers disproportionately from climate impacts.
He called for climate action to be matched with climate justice, including the fulfilment of commitments on climate finance and equitable energy transitions. He cited the US$30 million Ghana–UAE climate partnership as a practical example of forward-looking global cooperation.
In concluding his address, President Mahama defended multilateralism, acknowledging that the post-war rules-based international system has come under severe strain due to unilateral actions. Nonetheless, he expressed confidence that the system can be renewed through fairness, representation, and dialogue.
He reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to an international order based on cooperation rather than confrontation, rules rather than coercion, and shared progress rather than zero-sum rivalry.
Ultimately, he said, the future of global alliances is not defined solely by treaties and institutions, but by the kind of world nations choose to build — one where cooperation triumphs over division and countries rise together, not apart.
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