Govt holds meeting with Ghanian investors, Private Sector

…as delegation in Guyana to explore opportunities

Following up on months of bilateral engagements between Guyana and Ghana, particularly in the area of oil and gas and local content, President Dr Irfaan Ali and members of his Cabinet on Monday held a meeting with a visiting Ghanian delegation of private sector representatives.

The high-level meeting was held at the Office of the President on Shiv Chanderpaul Drive. The visitors, who represent several groups, including West Coast Gas Ghana Limited, met with President Ali, Prime Minister Mark Phillips, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and several other Ministers of the Government.
According to a short statement from the Office of the President, it is expected that over the next two days, the Ghanaians will have further discussions with a number of Ministers, Government agencies and local Private Sector entities.
Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, had paid a two-day visit to Guyana in June 2019.
Accompanied by a 43-member delegation, the Ghanaian leader held a series of engagements with the then Government as well as then Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and other stakeholders during which he committed to lend assistance to Guyana in the petroleum sector.
Following the change in Government, President Akufo-Addo had recommitted to lending technical cooperation in oil and gas and to enhance relations during a bilateral meeting in September 2021with President Ali at the 76th United Nations General Assembly in New York. Since then, visits have been made by representatives from both countries.
For instance, Vice President Jagdeo paid a three-day visit to Ghana in October and held talks with his Ghanian counterpart Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. Following these discussions, he had announced that Ghanian experts would be reviewing Guyana’s draft local content legislation.
During Jagdeo’s meeting with the Ghanian Vice President, they had also spoken about the initiatives that Ghana implemented to further their industrial agenda and develop its non-oil economy.
According to Jagdeo in a subsequent interview, Guyana, with its vast arable lands in the savannahs and the prevalence of fresh water, is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the agricultural sector and the global demand.
The Vice President was accompanied on his visit to Ghana by a member of the Advisory Panel on Local Content in Guyana, Floyd Haynes; the Natural Resources Ministry’s Gopnauth Bobby Gossai Jr, and career diplomat Hamley Case.
Ghana has been producing and exporting crude oil since 2011, having discovered the resource in commercial quantities back in 2007. Guyana begun producing oil in December 2019 in the Stabroek Block offshore, where there is said to be some 9 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
The two countries officially established diplomatic relations on May 14, 1979. (G3)