The Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, has stated that Ghana will use its ports operations to assist Sao Tome with port development.
He said that the two countries had successfully carried out a second aviation agreement that had been renewed for an additional five or seven years.
Mr Asiamah stated his expectation that both nations would benefit from the relationship when the Minister of Transport of Sao Tome, Adelino Cardoso, paid him a courtesy call at his office in Accra.
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Courtesy call
Because Ghana and Sao Tome have many similarities, Mr Asiamah paid a courtesy call on the latter country’s minister of transportation earlier this year in an effort to foster collaboration.
The Transport Minister stated that Mr. Asiamah’s goal in visiting was to get knowledge about potential areas of cooperation between the two nations in order to strengthen their ties.
He said that for more than 20 years, Ghana and Sao Tome have worked together to regulate the airspace above the Gulf of Guinea.
He stated that Adelino Cardoso, the minister of transportation for Sao Tome promised to return the favour by getting to know Ghana’s ports.
Mr Asiamah stated that he and his counterpart wanted to look at another area in terms of Sao Tome utilising Ghana as a port of entry, saying that the country has one of the most advanced ports that many Sahelian countries utilised within the West African zone.
Mr Asiamah, lauding the government’s redevelopment of Takoradi port, stated that the draught at Takoradi port used to be 8.3 metres and that “we needed to bring it up to international standards.”
He expressed optimism that the partnership will benefit both nations and said that the Takoradi port could now compete with any port in the globe.
He noted that Mr. Cardoso’s visit went well and will help to confirm earlier discussions.
“The agreement was to use Tema port but my position is that let us look at Takoradi because we have a new port.
Takoradi port Mr Asiamah informed his counterpart, “We have built a new container terminal with a bigger draught of 16 metres, meaning it can receive any ship in the world.”
According to him, the government has made a conscious effort to transform the Takoradi port into a contemporary port.
In response, Mr. Cardoso stated that he was in the country to visit the port and investigate potential port links between the two nations.
“I came so we discuss transport which we have a long agreement.
Because of the proximity between the two countries, we need to have that kind of relationship between us,” he added.
