Danish Maritime Aims to Boost Cooperation with Ghana
The Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) was in Ghana January 18-21 to identify potential areas of cooperation that may promote maritime growth in Ghana and, simultaneously, be of benefit to the Danish business sector.
The purpose of the cooperation between the Danish and Ghanian authorities is to use the Danish experiences and positions of strength to build a framework for sustainable growth and employment in the Ghanian maritime sector.
Ghana is one of the countries where the DMA has – together with the Ministry of Business and Growth and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – chosen to post a maritime growth adviser at the Danish Embassy.
Furthermore, the visit to Ghana also involved Danish interests. An added intention was to strengthen Denmark's position in and commercial relations with Ghana and West Africa in general. Ghana is centrally localized in West Africa and is witnessing positive economic developments. Therefore, stronger cooperation between Denmark and Ghana may also be of benefit to the Danish business sector.
As expected, the visit provided the DMA with more insight into the Ghanian maritime sector and input for potential focus areas where Denmark can assist Ghana in developing its maritime sector.
Ghana has a positive position regarding the combat of piracy in West Africa, where acts of piracy are typically characterized by serious use of force. In the light of the serious situation in West Africa, the Government's piracy strategy is focusing both on the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Guinea, where piracy and armed robbery at sea present an especially great challenge.
The Danish delegation visited the Maritime Trade and Information Sharing Centre for the Gulf of Guinea (MTISC), which monitors the maritime activities in the Gulf of Guinea. This is a new initiative that has been established to prevent piracy and armed robbery at sea in the region.
