Ghana and Barbados sign two agreements
Ghana and the Barbados on Friday signed two agreements on the provision of medical personnel and maritime information exchange towards strengthening business relations and bilateral ties.
Under the Human Resource agreement, a total of 120 nurses would be recruited from Ghana to complement the staffing needs of the island nation.
For the maritime agreement, a sister-port relationship will be established between the Port city of Tema and Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados, to facilitate the expansion of trade.
The agreements were signed at the Jubilee House in Accra by the respective officials of both nations, and witnessed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and the Barbadian leader, Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who is on an official visit to Ghana.
Both agreements are the results of a request made by Barbados to Ghana when President Akufo-Addo visited that country last June, as part of efforts to get the Caribbean Diaspora to key into the “Year of Return, Ghana 2019”.
The event is to give impetus to the quest to unite Africans on the continent with their kith and kin across the Atlantic.
The Agreement related to the nurses provides the framework for their recruitment, whilst the Sister Port Agreement will facilitate the exchange of commercial, technological and operational information to improve the visibility, trade and relationship between the ports to their mutual benefits.
Addressing a media conference after the bilateral talks, Prime Minister Mottley registered her country’s appreciation to Ghana for agreeing to assist her country fill the void for medical personnel to address the shortfall of care givers.
She said the move was one of the most important interventions that the Barbadian Government had undertaken to guarantee quality healthcare for its citizens.
“This is a wonderful opportunity of co-operation between our two countries,” she stated, expressing the wish that the medical fraternities of Barbados and Ghana would work closely for the mutual benefits of their peoples.
President Akufo-Addo said his administration believed that it was time to build the bridge to the Diaspora across the catalytic.
“We have to find the measures and the mechanisms to enable us to reach out across the Atlantic to solidify and build on that relationship,” he emphasised.
“The fundamental principle is to recognise that we are in the same boat. We are in the same boat imposed on us by history, by race, by geography and our responsibility as political leaders is to maximise the possibilities and potential of these linkages to build a better life for our peoples”.
Source: GNA