African Countries Must Translate Marine Comparative Advantages To Economic Prosperity- Dantsoho
The President of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, on Monday said there is an urgent need for African countries to translate their marine comparative advantages into opportunities for the collective prosperity of their respective countries.
Speaking at the PMAWCA Board of Directors and Ports Statisticians Network Meetings in Luanda, Angola, Dantsoho who is also the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), stated that the sustainability of Africa countries rests heavily on the sustainability of their seaports.
According to the PMAWCA boss, apart from being linked by water, countries in West and Central Africa are linked by challenges and opportunities.
“The need to translate our marine comparative advantages into opportunities for the collective prosperity of our respective countries has never been more pressing than it is now.
“We must not lose sight of the fact that the demonstrated global leadership of ports in the contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), shows that the sustainability of the world especially Africa rests heavily on the sustainability of our Ports.
Dr Dantsoho further emphasised that data remains the major driver of effective decision making in Port Management.
Dantsho who commended President Bola Tinubu for creating the Marine and Blue Economy Ministry, said the creation of the Ministry has made implementation of audacious plans for the sector easier.
“The specific objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which includes the progressive elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade in goods, liberalization of trade in services and cooperation amongst others is pregnant with a lot of opportunities for wealth creation and prosperity, which I am convinced that our partnership and holding of hands under the umbrella PMAWCA will equip us to safely midwife for the benefit of our respective national economies with domino effect on the economy of the sub-region.”
Source : NPA
