Ghana in Search of Regional Integration Agenda 146 Ghana's Integration Agenda An official of the Foreign Affairs Ministry 158 confirms the consistency of Ghana's Regional integration agenda with the content and direction of ECOWAS integration efforts. Specifically, Ghana's integration agenda may be discerned in the myriad of social, economic and political challenges that are being addressed through the regional integration efforts. Politically, Ghana has been committed to promoting peace and security in the Sub­Region, and in particular with her immediate neighbours, La Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Togo. The management of conflict through supranational efforts is also a concern in the integration agenda. The experience of ECOMOG confirms this commitment. Socially, Ghana is committed to combating unemployment and a host of crimes such as drug and child trafficking, trade in arms, robberies and a host of others. Health concerns have a place in the agenda, especially in respect of health problems like HIV-AIDS, tuberculosis and other contagious diseases. Economic concerns are paramount as Ghana sees economic benefits in regional integration that takes due cognisance of the diverse levels of development in West Africa. Being one of the more industrialised countries in the sub-region, Ghana is particularly interested in the market access opportunities that emerge with the free movement of goods, services and people. Concurrently, Ghana supports the development of mechanisms that ensure a balanced and more equitable distribution of costs and benefits, according to the Director of the Africa and AU Bureau, Foreign Affairs Ministry. Ghana has been concerned about the slow pace of integration in West Africa and has demonstrated commitment to fast tracking regional integration. The efforts to develop a second currency zone among five Anglophone countries in the Sub region is one indication of such commitment. Ghana recognises the diversity of formal and informal interactions taking place across national borders and supports the removal of all barriers to the movement of goods and people, in accordance with established protocols of ECOWAS. There is increasing appreciation of the fact that business operators and civil society are active in cross border interaction. This recognition is lending strength to their inclusion in regional integration efforts that have hitherto been pursued by State institutions. 158 Interview with Mr. W. A. Awinador-Kanyirige, Director-Africa and AU, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Accra, May 7, 2009