Ghana and Guyana have signed a ‘Framework Agreement on Cooperation’ designed to actualise the growing strategic partnership between the two countries.
Among others, the parties to the Framework Agreement seek to promote cooperation with the objective of contributing to the development of their resources – by making efforts to ensure that programmes and projects resulting from the Agreement are per the policy and development plan in the respective countries.
This is seen as additional support to their internal efforts to attain the objectives of social and economic development.
The cooperation includes exchange of information and professional training through programmes of visits, or specialised courses, by granting scholarships for technical and professional specialisation.
Others are implementation of joint projects for technical cooperation in areas of mutual interest; exchange of professionals and technicians; supply of equipment and material needed for implementing specific projects; and any other form of cooperation to be agreed upon by the two countries.
The Agreement is valid for five years and shall be renewed automatically for successive periods of equal duration – unless the Parties mutually agree otherwise, or if either of them terminate it under provisions of the Agreement.
The Agreement-signing comes at the back of several months of high-level engagements between the two countries.
It was witnessed by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who is on a three-day official visit to Guyana, and the Vice President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who was in Ghana some time ago.
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Thomas Mbomba who was part of the visit, signed the Framework Agreement on behalf of Ghana’s government, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Guyana, Hugh Hilton Todd.
In addition to this agreement, some Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in the Petroleum and Investment promotion sectors were also concluded.
Under the Petroleum pact, Ghana’s Petroleum Commission and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Guyana agreed to work with each other to achieve areas of collaboration in furtherance of the Framework Agreement.
The scope of collaboration is in the areas of Legal, Fiscal and Technical support services, non-technical support and assistance, and any other petroleum-related areas.
Among others, the Petroleum Commission will use its expertise and resources to support Guyana develop its national competencies to enable it efficiently manage the Petroleum Sector; evaluate and establish future partnership opportunities with the Commission and other relevant entities in Ghana to ensure continued collaboration between the two countries; and provide certain consulting and project management services and other activities.
Also, the Board Chairman of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr. Alex Dadey, signed an MoU on Mutual Cooperation in Investment Promotion with the Guyana Office for Investment – represented by Peter R. Ramsaroop, Chief Investment Officer and CEO-Guyana Office for Foreign and Local Investments.
This means the GIPC has agreed to work with its Guyanese counterpart to cooperate and create conducive relations aimed at supporting trade and investment promotion activities in each other’s country.
The two parties also agreed to set up information-sharing mechanisms to facilitate regular exchanges of information on economic and trade developments in their respective countries, including laws and regulations, policy measures, industrial standards and trends, market analysis reports, exhibitions and forums, trade leads as well as investment projects and opportunities in both countries.
Among others, GIPC agreed to organise business, trade and/or investment delegations to the country of either party; and in the same manner, support, facilitate or assist similar visiting business, trade and/or investment delegations organised by the other party, and to co-host agreed mutually beneficial events including economic and trade policy dialogues between relevant government agencies and business delegations in Ghana and Guyana.
