Govt committed to peace, stability of country

The Minister of Defence, Mr Mark Woyongo, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring peace and stability in the country.

That, he said made for investor confidence and economic growth.

The minister said this when the Commander of the US Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), Gen. William M. Fraser III, called on him last Thursday,  in Accra.

Mr Woyongo catalogued the Millenium Challenge Account and other social and military assistance programmes, which the nation had benefited from the US, as being the result of the collaboration between the two countries.

He called for more assistance in logistics and training and stressed the need for the relationship between the US and Ghana to be further developed.

Mr Woyongo noted that the collaboration between the two countries in fighting drug trafficking had led to a significant reduction in the menace in Ghana.

He said with the emergence of different terrorist groups, such as Boko Haram, in the sub-region, there was the need for more support in counter terrorism efforts.    

Gen. Fraser III, for his part, expressed deep satisfaction with the partnership between the militaries of Ghana and the US.

He said the state partnership programme had been extremely successful over the years.

He also indicated that TRANSCOM dealt with commercial partners, noting that the relations between the organic military and the commercial partners had enabled them to leverage their commercial relationships and to be able to respond in a timely manner to emergencies.

Gen. Fraser III added that together with maritime forces, TRANSCOM had developed tactics, techniques and procedures to effectively fight piracy.

He stated that considerable success had been chalked up in that regard and stressed on the value of exchange of information to enable Ghana to learn from their experiences.

Earlier, Gen. Fraser III had paid a similar visit to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Michael Samson-Oje, at his office in Burma Camp.

He commended the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) for their active participation in UN missions and called for more joint training exercises between the GAF and the US Air Force in order to contribute meaningfully to the UN missions.

Air Vice Marshal Samson-Oje expressed gratitude to the US Air Force for their continuous support for the GAF.

Gen. Fraser III also paid a courtesy call on the Director General of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, Air Commodore Kwame Mamphey.

By Caroline Boateng
Daily Graphic/graphic.com.gh/Ghana
Writer’s email: [email protected]