Oil and Gas among issues discuss in talks bet. President Ali, Ghanaian counterpart

Presidents H.E. Dr Irfaan Ali and H.E. President Nana Akufo-Addo

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Friday afternoon had a telephone engagement with the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, during which the two leaders discussed a host of issues including oil and gas.

According to a missive from the Office of the President, the two Heads of State reaffirmed their strong commitment to the longstanding friendly relations between Guyana and Ghana.

It was noted that Presidents Ali and Akufo-Addo committed to advancing and deepening the agenda for cooperation between the two countries, including in the oil and gas sector and on environmental issues, amongst other areas.

During their conversation, they recalled the discussions held during the Ghanaian President’s state visit to Guyana in 2019 when he met with a delegation led by then Opposition Leader and now Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.

President Nana Akufo-Addo paid a two-day visit to Guyana in June 2019.

Accompanied by a 43-member delegation, the Ghanaian Leader held a series of engagements with the then government as well as other stakeholders during which he committed to lend assistance to Guyana in the petroleum sector.

In fact, following a brief engagement with President Nana Akufo-Addo, Jagdeo had told reporters that the Head of State had assured that his commitments were beyond political parties.

“(President Nana Akufo-Addo) said that the offer is to Guyana and not to any political party. We expressed our appreciation for that because even if the PPP were to get into office, we would still need to get support from like-minded countries and Ghana has always been a good political partner… we appreciate his offer to share their experience and some of their technical advice on issues that they’ve had to deal with because it’s important that we have perspective from a practitioner country, developing country and not just from consultants,” Jagdeo had said just over two years ago.

Ghana has been producing and exporting crude oil since 2011 having discovered the resource in commercial quantities back in 2007.

Guyana begun producing oil in December 2019 in the Stabroek Block offshore, where there is said to be some 9 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

The two countries officially established diplomatic relations on May 14, 1979.