The Republic of Ghana has expressed an interest in helping Guyana build its oil and gas capacity. This was among highlights of a bilateral agreement, which was signed between Guyana’s President David Granger and Ghanaian’s President Nana Akufo Addo.
President Akufo-Addo is on a one day state visit to Guyana and is set to depart on Wednesday morning.
Speaking shortly after the signing of the agreement at State House, Carmichael Street, Georgetown on Tuesday, Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, said the Ghanaian President has committed to providing Guyana with the experts to help the country’s capacity.
He said, “This is very important to us because what they did was to commit to pay their salaries and transportation (airfare) to get the people here and all we will need to do is find accommodation for them. So, this is a very clear commitment from the Ghanaians to develop our oil and gas sector.”
He added that, “We are talking about capacity of the Department of Energy. Ultimately the President has spoken about the Ministry of Energy and so this is going to require an expanded level of talent and so these are things we are looking at.”
Given Ghana’s experience in the oil and gas sector, President Akufo -Addo urged that strategic relations are formed to ensure the effective management of Guyana’s emerging sector.
He underscored that, “We should explore promptly the possibility of establishing a joint vehicle to assist in the effective management of oil and gas. With our experiences, I believe Ghana is well-equipped to share the do’s and don’ts and make available free quality technical assistance to you.”
The West African Leader was also conferred with the Order of Excellence, Guyana’s highest national award, by President David Granger at an event at State House on Tuesday.
Ghana has been producing oil commercially since 2010, propelling it to become one of Africa’s fastest growing economies.
