The Upper East Region of Ghana and the Central South Region of Burkina Faso have agreed to promote the learning of French and English through school exchange programmes such as swapping of teachers and linking up of schools in the two regions through regular correspondence.

This was disclosed in a communiqué issued at the end of a day’s bilateral meeting between two delegations from the Burkina Faso and the Upper East region of Ghana led by the Central South Region’s Governor, Hon. Raymond Edouard Ouedraogo and Hon. Mark Owen Woyongo respectively.

The communiqué said, Burkina Faso trains hundreds of French teachers yearly, many of whom often do not get employed in that country and can be made available to Ghana to aid the teaching and learning of French. 

It called on the Upper East Regional Minister to formally write to the Governor of the Central South region requesting the needed number of French teachers, their contract period and range of salary to be catered for by municipal and district assemblies in the Upper  East region.
 
According to the communiqué, sporting activities and quiz competitions should be organised regularly for schools in the two regions while cultural performances should be staged during national days of the two nations to further strengthen already existing sister-city relations.
 
Meanwhile, in the long term, a national language policy should be put in place by both regions to allow easy exchange of teachers which will eliminate the issue of delayed certificate accreditation.
 
It was also agreed between the two neighbours that there should be free flow of information through the establishment of a regional journal or website for the Upper East Region which should carry publications both in French and English regarding activities and programmes. The Burkina region already has a news letter in place.
 
On trans-border crime and road security, the communiqué held that both countries should collaborate at all levels to check and stop smuggling of small arms while also recognising that illicit drug trade brings in its trail, insecurity to the governments and citizens of both countries.
 
Other topical issues including movement of goods and people, environmental management and human health were discussed by technocrats in decentralised departments from both the Burkina Faso and Ghana.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Hon. Mark Owen Woyongo who gave a speech to welcome his guests, recountered past cordial relations between Ghana and Burkina Faso and hoped regular meetings will help find solutions to the many common problems confronting the two nations.
 
The Governor of the Central South Region of Burkina Faso, Hon. Raymond Edouard Ouedraogo in an address said, the wind of friendship and oneness began blowing between his country and Ghana many decades ago when after independence, the then President of Burkina and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, first president of Ghana symbolically broke their physical barriers to show that they are one.