The presidents of Ivory Coast and Ghana, Alassane Ouattara and John Dramani Mahama, held a summit in Abidjan on 16 June 2026 under the Cocoa Initiative Côte d'Ivoire–Ghana (an intergovernmental body linking the world's two largest cocoa producers, who together account for roughly 60% of global output) to forge a coordinated response to deepening instability in the sector. The two leaders announced plans to harmonise cocoa pricing and align their marketing-season calendars, while also opening the initiative to other African producers, notably Cameroon and Nigeria, with the goal of speaking in a unified voice on international markets. The move comes as both countries grapple with ageing plantations, climate change, illegal gold mining, and crop diseases such as swollen shoot, with Ouattara warning that price volatility is hitting farmers' incomes and public finances in ways that neither country can absorb alone.