On Tuesday, March 23, US Ambassador to Ghana Stephanie S. Sullivan presented the Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, and the Chief Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ambassador Martha Pobee, with new aviation security screening equipment for use at Kotoka International Airport.
Charles Kraikue, Director-General of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), and Yaw Kwakwa, Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), were also in attendance.
Ambassador Sullivan noted in her remarks that the growth of Ghana’s aviation sector has increased the importance of aviation security, screening, and knowledge sharing, noting that “the airport security training and equipment program underscores the robust security cooperation between the US and Ghana.”
At the passenger checkpoint for outbound flights inside Kotoka International Airport Terminal 3, US and Ghanaian officials mounted one body scanner and nine explosives and drugs trace detectors.
In addition to cutting-edge screening technology, the US government has agreed to include best practices in airport security management as well as operator training for the donated equipment.
The US Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s Office of Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA), in conjunction with the US Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration, initiated this equipment grant.
In collaboration with the Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism (CT) and the US Embassy in Accra, the ATA program supports an Aviation Security Enhancement Program (ASEP) in Ghana.
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SOURCE: ATLFMNEWSONLINE
