Chinese Naval Group Arrives At Tema Port

The 28th Escort Task Group of the Chinese Navy, arrived in Tema on Monday, to begin a series of exchange programs with their Ghanaian counterparts.

The Group while in Ghana would, make a donation to the Naval Base Primary School in Tema, hold a joint sea military exercise with their Ghanaian counterparts as well as joint sports activities and many more.

The Group, which arrived at about 0900 hours at the Tema Habour in a Chinese Naval Ship, was met by a large number of Chinese and Ghanaian Dignitaries, who waved the national flags of both countries.

As part of the welcoming ceremony, the National anthems of the two countries were played, whilst a Guard of Honor was mounted and inspected by Lieutenant General Obed Boama Akwa, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Army.
There was also some display of Chinese culture as part of the ceremony.

Mr. Shi Ting Wang, the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, who was also at the port to meet the Group, said presently, China-Ghana relations had reached an impressive level of cooperation and understanding

He said military exchanges had made considerable progress as an important part of bilateral relations.
Mr. Shi said with both China and Ghana being enthusiasts and defenders of world peace, the strengthening of co-operation and trust in the military field between the two countries, was of positive significance to safeguarding world peace.

"I hope that the two sides would grasp the opportunity of this visit, to promote the development of relations between the two Armed Forces and countries, and to also make greater contributions to safeguarding world peace," the Chinese Ambassador said.

Lt. Gen Akwa welcomed the group on behalf of the Minister of Defence, Mr Dominic Ntiwul, and said the complex nature of maritime security, made it necessary for nations to cooperate in that area.

"Recent unfortunate incidents of attacks in our waters, give credence to the need to train and build capacity to deal with these threats," he said.

The Group is commanded by Wu Dongzhu, and ends its visit on Friday, June 8th.