Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), and the Port of Amsterdam International, have signed signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) to deepen and broaden their cooperation and trade ties.
Both Parties wish to share expertise and experience in several fields to strengthen their partnership, as well as promote trade between the Port of Amsterdam and the Ports of Tema and Takoradi, with a focus on the cocoa trade and other commodities and cargoes.
Some key elements of this partnership include sustainable port initiatives such as the energy transition, trade development initiatives such as the exploration of market opportunities and other port development issues.
The Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Michael Luguje expressed excitement at the prospects of this partnership.
He said, “Ghana is a leading producer of cocoa but how exports are done lies mainly with the COCOBOD and the various marketing organisations. We only provide the port facilities over the years. We haven’t really had any special arrangements with any destination port to develop special programs that can help us promote the trade and make it more efficient so we think that as we are advancing in our relationship, it will be the first time we will have that port-to-port structured arrangement to see how we can promote business not just in cocoa sector but in other cargo segments.”
On the other side, the Managing Director of the Port of Amsterdam International, Gert-Jan Nieuwenhuizen told Eye on Port his outfit is looking forward to exchange knowledge and business opportunities.
He said “the ports of Ghana are already partners of ours for a long time. Carriers such as Grimaldi have been calling for a long time in Tema, Takoradi and the Port of Amsterdam. They are increasing their presence in both ports and this will mean that this is a good moment to intensify the relations from port to port to create better efficiency.”
