Maritime exhibition conference ends in Accra

The two-day Inter­national Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference (IMDEC) ended yesterday.

The conference which was opened by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday was also used to launch Ghana’s National Integrated Maritime Strategy (NIMS) to foster collab­oration, innovation, and address challenges facing Ghana’s maritime sector.

The conference was used to dis­play a wide range of technological enhanced military equipment and accoutrement and featured panel discussions.

It was attended by Chiefs of Na­vies, Admirals and other officers, military officers from 30 coun­tries including the United States of America, Israel, China, Brazil, France, The Netherlands, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa amongst others.

Shortly before the closing cere­mony, the attendees congregated at the Nicholson Stadium at the Bur­ma Camp for drone demonstration amongst others.

Deputy Minister of Defence, Kofi Amankwa-Manu, in his clos­ing speech said he was confident the lessons from the conference would be applied to provide solu­tion to maritime security challeng­es.

“With the excellent presenta­tions and deliberations, the equip­ment that you exhibited and the networking that took place, there is no doubt that the objective of the conference has been achieved,” he said.

He added that the need for such conference was important because the blue economy had become important for the economic growth of countries and must be safeguarded.

“It is my fervent hope that all the discussions and the solutions proffered will set the stage for a follow-up action to improve the security situation in our maritime domains,” Mr Amankwa-Manu said.

He said the Gulf of Guinea, which hitherto, was the hotbed for piracy has not recorded any attacks in the past two years due to the collaborative efforts of stakehold­ers across the 13 countries the Gulf spans and beyond.

He assured of Ghana govern­ment’s continuous commitment to contributing its quota to keeping the Gulf of Guinea safe.

The conference was on the theme: “Consolidating the gains made in the Gulf of Guinea: The Role of Stakeholders and Technol­ogy in Sustaining a Safe and Secure Maritime Domain.”

 BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI