Mahama takes Accra Reset to Davos talks on Global South cooperation

President John Dramani Mahama will lead high-level discussions on the Accra Reset initiative at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week.

In a statement issued by Presidency Communications on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, the President is expected to participate in the first Davos convening of the Accra Reset on Thursday, January 22, on the margins of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.

According to the statement, President Mahama chairs the Presidential Council of the Accra Reset, described as “a Global South initiative working to strengthen sovereign capacity and reimagine international cooperation in an era of unprecedented global challenges.”

The Presidency said the initiative comes at a critical moment for developing countries, pointing to “intensifying great-power rivalries, the collapse of the global aid narrative, unprecedented trade tensions, and the crises of climate shocks, cost of living, pandemics, and conflicts.”

The Davos side event is expected to attract several sitting heads of state and government from Africa and beyond. Those scheduled to attend include Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Kenya’s President William Samoei Ruto, and President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nigeria will be represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, while Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, James Marape, is also expected to take part.

Former leaders will also play a prominent role at the meeting. The statement listed Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Rt. Hon. Helen Clark, President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, and President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as members of what it described as the “Guardians Circle of the Accra Reset.”

The gathering is expected to formally launch priority programmes under the Accra Reset framework, following the initiative’s introduction at the 2025 United Nations General Assembly and its subsequent endorsement at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg.

President Mahama, according to the statement, “considers the Accra Reset as complementary to his domestic reform, the Resetting Ghana Agenda.” It added that Ghana recognises “that effective national governance requires both internal reforms and a more equitable international system.”

The statement further stressed that “sovereignty means the capacity to execute national visions while building strategic partnerships, particularly within Africa and across the Global South, that advance mutual interests.”

Officials say the Davos discussions are expected to position the Accra Reset as a platform for coordinated Global South action, with a focus on practical cooperation, shared priorities and stronger national institutions in an increasingly fragmented global environment.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting kicked off in the Swiss resort city of Davos on Monday, with global figures from politics, business, academia and civil society attending the five-day event.

The annual forum that attempts to shape global agenda comes at a time of massive global upheaval.