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
