OIL - Ghana, Equatorial Guinea to co-operate

Ghana is considering refining crude oil from Equatorial Guinea at the Tema Oil Refinery for export to that country, Mr. Kwamena Ahwoi, Minister of Planing and Regional Integration has said.

This is because Equatorial Guinea, Africa's latest oil producer, has no refinery of its own, while TOR has extra capacity to process crude oil from that country.

Mr. Ahwoi, who was speaking to newsmen in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, said such refined oil can be re-exported to Equatorial Guinea to meet the country's petroleum products demand.

Mr. Ahwoi, who is on the delegation of President Jerry John Rawlings currently visiting that country, said details of the agreement will be discussed during a Joint Permanent Committee for Co-operation meeting scheduled for October this year.

Another area of co-operation discussed between the two countries, the Minister said, is tourism and cultural exchanges. Ghana, he said, will help train personnel from Equatorial Guinea in tourism, manpower development and packaging.

He said the Universities of Ghana and Cape Coast offer degree courses in tourism and this will be made available for personnel from that country.

In the areas of trade, he said textile and canned tuna are on the list of products that could be exported from Ghana to that country.

Ghana, he said, could also share her experience in the production of hydro-power with Equatorial Guinea, which currently depends solely on power produced from gas for domestic energy needs.

A communiqu? signed at the end of the visit said President Rawlings and his host, Theodore Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, agreed to strengthen bilateral co-operation between their two countries.

The two leaders, according tot he communiqu?, considered areas such as petroleum and mining, agriculture and forestry, technical and scientific co-operation, energy and human resource development as some of the areas of co-operation.

President Rawlings and Nguema deplored the continued conflicts and violence in some African countries, which cause unnecessary loss of human lives and destruction of infrastructure.

In this connection, President Rawlings commended Equatorial Guinea for the establishment of the Commission on Gulf of Guinea for the peaceful resolution conflicts in that area.

At the international level, the two leaders resolved to keep the principles and objectives of the UN and the OAU as the most effective legal framework for the establishment, maintenance and consolidation of peace and security in the world.