The Ghana Navy has held a high-level meeting with the University of Ghana (UG) and the academia to strengthen collaboration on Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) on Thursday 4 July 2024, at the Owusu Ansah Hall, Naval Headquarters.
The high level meeting is aimed at enhancing the sharing of information, expertise, and resources to improve maritime security and safety.
The discussions focused on enhancing surveillance and monitoring capabilities, sharing research and intelligence on maritime threats, developing joint training programs for naval personnel and students, and Collaborating on research projects related to MDA.
The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Honourable Ophelia Mensah Hayford, who was ably represented by the Director Research, Statistics and Information Management at the Ministry, Mr Cephas Adjei Mensah, in a keynote address said, the Ministry welcomes the collaborative initiative on the securing of the ocean space and the promotion of its sustainable use.
The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Rear Admiral Issah Yakubu, emphasized the importance of MDA in ensuring the security of Ghana's territorial waters and the Economic Exclusive Zone. "The Gulf of Guinea is not only an important corridor for global maritime trade but also possesses resources that can significantly contribute to our blue economy with industries such as fisheries, oil and gas, maritime transportation and tourism which are critical to economic development." he stated.
He expressed optimism that the outcome of the meeting would set the stage for a trilateral relationship between maritime security operatives, academia and industry.
Rear Admiral Yakubu also expressed his heart-felt appreciation to the co-host, UG for the initiative and foresight in bringing academia and maritime stakeholders together to deliberate on the MDA. He also thanked the President of the African Space Council from the African Union Commission, Dr Tidiane Ouattara, for supporting the initiative.
The Provost, College of Basic and Applied Sciences at the UG, Professor Boateng Onwona-Agyeman, expressed the University's commitment to supporting the Ghana Navy's efforts, saying, "we are dedicated to providing the necessary expertise and resources to enhance Ghana's maritime security."
Presentations were also made by the Ghana Navy and the UG on Ghana’s maritime security dynamics, the economic impact, loses and resource management, security and MDA respectively.
The meeting culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), solidifying the partnership and paving the way for future collaborations.
