A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and the Port of Amsterdam International for the two parties to deepen and broaden their cooperation and trade ties.

The parties wish to share expertise and experience in several fields to strengthen their partnership, as well as promote trade between the Port of Amsterdam and the Ports of Tema and Takoradi, with a focus on the cocoa trade and other commodities and cargoes.

Some key elements of this partnership include sustainable port initiatives such as the energy transition, trade development initiatives such as the exploration of market opportunities, and other port development issues.

The Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Michael Luguje, expressed excitement at the prospects of this partnership.

The GPHA boss said, “Ghana is a leading producer of cocoa, but how exports are done lies mainly with COCOBOD and the various marketing organizations. We only provide port facilities over the years. We haven’t really had any special arrangements with any destination port to develop special programs that can help us promote the trade and make it more efficient, so we think that as we are advancing in our relationship, it will be the first time we will have that port-to-port structured arrangement to see how we can promote business not just in the cocoa sector but in other cargo segments."

On the other side, the Managing Director of the Port of Amsterdam International, Gert-Jan Nieuwenhuizen, told Eye on Port that his outfit is looking forward to exchanging knowledge and business opportunities.

He said, “The ports of Ghana are already partners of ours for a long time. Carriers such as Grimaldi have been calling for a long time in Tema, Takoradi, and the Port of Amsterdam. They are increasing their presence in both ports, and this will mean that this is a good moment to intensify the relations from port to port to create better efficiency.”