The President has, in principle, agreed to a request by the Barbados Prime Minister to send some 375 Ghanaian nurses to the Carribean Island to work in a number of their government medical facilities.
This came to the fore when President Nana Akufo-Addo and Mia Amor Mottley held bilateral talks on Friday in Bridgetown in Barbados after he paid a day’s working visit to the country.
Addressing a press conference in the aftermath of the bilateral discussions, the Barbadian Prime Minister stated that “we have indicated that we are searching for just under 400 nurses, so it is not a small number, and we really do believe that this is a wonderful opportunity of co-operation between our two countries.”
She also noted that there was also an initial promise to secure the nurses and provide joint education programmes going forward, all in an attempt to secure Barbados’ healthcare sector.
Barbados is currently facing an acute nursing shortage.
On his part, the President indicated that “we have a surplus of nurses and placing them all in our public health system is one of my headaches. There have been a lot (of nurses) produced, which, for several years, we have not been able to do anything with.”
He said once he gets back to Ghana, the Prime Minister will hear from him regarding the matter.
President Akufo-Addo agreed to reactivate a 2005 cultural, technical and scientific agreement signed between the two countries, an agreement which has been dormant for 14 years.
The discussions also touched on tourism and transportation, with the two countries agreeing to work on an air services agreement. This will establish direct air links between the two countries, so as to boost trade and people-to-people contact.
On the issue of renewable energy, the President expressed the desire to collaborate with Barbados, a country which is giant in that field, and reiterated Ghana’s commitment to increase the renewable energy component of her energy generation mix.
As a demonstration of the close ties between Ghana and Barbados, the President expressed his commitment to the establishment of an Consulate in Barbados, with Barbados set to establish a High Commission in Accra by the end of 2019.