Defence deal mutually beneficial – Ambrose Dery

Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, has applauded an agreement between Ghana and the United States of America, which involves training of military personnel and provision of equipment.

The U.S. is investing over $20million in training and equipping the Ghana armed forces and Ghana will also offer certain kinds of training for the U.S. forces.

Contrary to widespread local media reports that the United States of America will set up a military base in Ghana, Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul and U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson, have said there is nothing of the sort intended.

Commenting on the matter on Wednesday, 21 March after appearing in parliament to answer some questions on security, Mr Dery encouraged everyone to accept the agreement, which, to him, will be mutually beneficial.

“There is no military base and there is an agreement between the U.S. and Ghana, beneficial to both countries and I think that it is an agreement we should all support,” he stated, adding that there will be “access to our facilities in the same way we have access to their facilities, and I am saying that we will benefit from some aspect of their security”.

But Minority MPs are demanding immediate withdrawal of the U.S. military agreement amidst allegations the memoranda accompanying the agreement was unsigned.