The governments of two oil producing nations on opposite sides of the Atlantic, Guyana and Ghana, signed three agreements to deepen their ties on Tuesday. The occasion culminated a 4-day trip to Guyana by Ghana’s Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
He oversaw the signings at the Marriott Hotel in Georgetown, along with his Guyanese counterpart, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.
A framework agreement on cooperation was signed between Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd and Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thomas Mbomba.
A memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the petroleum sector was signed between Guyana’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Ghana’s Petroleum Commission. Subject Minister Vickram Bharrat signed on Guyana’s behalf while Minister Mbomba signed for the Ghanaian Petroleum Commission.
A memorandum of understanding was signed for cooperation in investment promotion between the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). GO-Invest’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Peter Ramsaroop joined in signing this agreement with Chairman of GIPC, Alex Dadey. Under this agreement, Ghana and Guyana committed to support trade and investment activities in each other’s countries. They’ve also committed to jointly host fairs, exhibitions and trade fora, and sharing of information on economic and trade developments, such as laws and regulations, policy measures, industrial standards, and market analysis reports.
Discussing the cooperation between the two countries during an engagement on Monday, Vice President Bawumia said, “There is an economic imperative at this momentous occasion in our relations for the two countries to broaden the scope of our engagements given the commonalities in synergies in our economics.”
He said areas of possible cooperation include oil and gas, the petrochemicals sector, agro-processing and agriculture, education, mining and tourism.
Guyana’s President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali expressed optimism about the potential for economic cooperation between the two countries.
In the area of oil and gas, Bawumia said Ghana is keen on sharing its experiences with Guyana to ensure the sustainable development of its oil and gas sector. Ghana achieved first oil in 2010, nearly a decade ahead of Guyana.
The new agreements build on ties forged in 2019 when Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo visited Guyana. This time around, the Ghanaian delegation has so far assisted Guyana in the drafting of its local content and sovereign wealth fund laws, which the government is preparing to take to Parliament this month.
