Ghana (Commonwealth) _ During the International Conference on Air Services Negotiations (ICAN 2023) in Riyadh, the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) had bilateral discussions with its counterpart in the Republic of Ghana.
The negotiations concluded in the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand the two nations’ transportation rights. The MoU calls for open skies air services for passenger and freight flights, expanding travelers’ travel alternatives.
The agreement was signed on behalf of Qatar by Mohammed Faleh Al Hajri, who is in charge of operating the QCAA, and on behalf of Ghana by AlHassan Sulemana Tampuli, Deputy Minister for Transport.
The two sides also talked about improving international ties between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Ghana, as well as numerous areas of mutual interest in the sphere of air transport.
This was disclosed yesterday when the Ministry of Works and Transport signed a historic bilateral aviation services agreement involving Curaçao with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Ghana has an agreement with Qatar that will be signed in February of next year, and we plan to sign with Ghana soon after that, as well as a number of other agreements that will be implemented next year, Transport and Works Minister Rohan Sinanan announced during the signing ceremony.
The air services committee should be grateful for a job well done in getting us to the point where we can sign some of these agreements that have been in the queue for 13 years, and others for more than 15 years, and are finally being implemented, he added.
Sinanan stated that the agreements are vital for the development of the tourism business since they bring trade closer together, among other benefits. We now have a blueprint for more of these air services agreements to be struck in the near future, which can only be good for the country and its economy, he added.
Anthony Viera, Chairman of the Standing Negotiating Committee on Air Services Agreements, stated that the bilateral air service agreement inked yesterday enhances existing aviation services between Trinidad and Tobago and Curaçao. He stated that it was made possible by a 1997 agreement between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Caribbean Dutch islands, but that it did not acknowledge Curaçao’s independent status.
Viera stated that Caribbean Airlines (CAL) now conducts twice-weekly flights to Curaçao, which will resume in April 2022, resulting in a significant increase in arrivals from T&T for the fiscal year ending August 2023.
He stated that the agreement will allow CAL and Curaçao’s approved airlines to enhance their range of air services between the two territories, as well as expand their routes in North and South America. It will also allow for more extensive commercial development, perhaps expanding the number of travel destinations available to travelers.
Qatar and Ghana have strong, close relations that include a wide range of economic, political, and commercial issues.
Non-resident representation was used to establish diplomatic ties between the two nations in 1981. A resident Qatari ambassador was assigned in Ghana in March 2018, and Ghana’s embassy in Doha opened in May.The two nations’ ties are governed by a series of negotiated agreements and memorandums of understanding. Mutual visits between the two nations indicate their determination to promote and expand these relations and advance them to a higher level in the interests of the two countries and their people, while contributing to global security, peace, and prosperity.
Ghana has an abundance of natural resources, including arable land, lakes, rivers, woods, animals, and fish. It is Africa’s second largest producer of gold after South Africa, as well as the continent’s second greatest producer of cocoa. Diamonds, manganese, and bauxite are abundant. Ghana is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, according to World Bank and African Development Bank (ADB) statistics this year. According to certain studies, Ghana is the world’s future oil producer.
