Chair of the Agric and Cocoa Affairs Committee of Parliament, Dr. Godfred Seidu Jasaw, together with the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Hon. Emelia Arthur, led Ghana’s delegation to Busan, South Korea, to participate in the ‘10th Our Ocean Conference’ themed ‘Our Ocean, Our Action’ aimed at promoting global actions for a sustainable ocean.
The discussions centered on Digital Oceans, which combines the ocean industry and digital technology, to serve as an implementation tool in achieving a sustainable ocean swiftly and systematically.
He participated in Panel discussions, side events, and some bilaterals to attract additional investments, partnerships, and collaborations for sustainable fisheries in the ocean and inland waters of Ghana.
One key highlight was the meeting with Sen. John Kerry, the 68th US Secretary of State, on how he can amplify the Ghana case for greater participation.
Another was the meeting with Charlina Vitcheva, the Director General of the European Commission for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, where the issue of a yellow card warning issued by the EU on Ghana was exhaustively discussed.
Dr. Vitcheva was satisfied that Ghana was taking sufficient steps on transparency and deterrent sanctions on IUU activities in its waters. She pledged to initiate processes to reverse the yellow card warning issued.
The Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, committed to the transparency charter and would utilize relevant inputs made at the conference to improve sustainable ocean governance in Ghana.