The Vanuatu Trade Commissioner to Ghana (H.E. Prof. Hugh K. Aryee) and his team paid a courtesy call on the Management of Cape Coast Technical University on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. The aim of the visit was to explore possible avenues for collaboration with the Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU). Mr. Asiwome Dzineku (Head of Business Development), Ms. Belinda Ewoenam Nyamadi (Executive Secretary) and Mr. Godwin Dorgbefu (Head of Protocol) were part of the delegation.

Dr. Francis Narh Akrono (Registrar), on behalf of the Management of Cape Coast Technical University, welcomed H.E. Prof. Hugh K. Aryee and his delegation. In his remarks, the leader of the VTC delegation said his core mandate as a Commissioner of VTC was to promote Vanuatu in the areas of Diplomacy, Trade, Tourism and other businesses in the West African-Sub Region. H.E. Prof. Aryee said that the main reason for their visit was to explore mutually beneficial collaborations between the National Vanuatu University (NVU) and the Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU).  

H.E. Prof. Aryee gave a brief history of Vanuatu as an Island with a population of 390,000 and located in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean. He indicated that Vanuatu was colonized by Britain and France and therefore the inhabitants speak both English and French. The Commissioner affirmed that the commission seeks to bridge the trade gap between Vanuatu and the rest of Africa. He indicated that the National Vanuatu University (NVU) was established in the year 2020 and was an amalgamation of different collages. H.E. Prof. Aryee believed that the collaboration would make CCTU the first university in West Africa to have a working partnership with Vanuatu. He hinted that the partnership would allow both staff and students an opportunity for an exchange programme as well as seasonal working visits to the NVU to deepen the partnership between the universities.

Mr. Asiwome Dzineku (Head of Business Development) VTC, on his part, spoke on the tourism potential and the various tourist attractions on the Island. He indicated that some of the islands were yet to be developed and investors were warmly welcomed. He touched on ICT as a niche area ready to be explored. He reiterated that CCTU was the first university south of the Sahara that NVU was signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with and therefore serves as a great achievement.

The Commissioner mentioned that the Indian-African Trade Summit slated for later in the year in Accra, Ghana was expected to draw participants from Benin, Mali, and Cote d’Ivoire and therefore extended an invitation to CCTU. 

On his part, the Vice-Chancellor (Prof. Kwaku Adutwum Ayim Boakye) mentioned that CCTU was a relatively young University which would be Forty (40) years in 2024. He spoke about the niche area of CCTU as Renewable Energy, the university’s state-of-the-art engineering laboratory and some of the important strides the university had achieved over the years such as the Solar Powered Tricycle etc. He said CCTU was ready for business since connectivity was key in this global world. Prof. Boakye was hopeful for a wonderful and mutually beneficial collaboration between the two universities in the areas of tourism, business, engineering, etc.

H.E. Prof. Aryee expressed his gratitude to the Management of CCTU for the warm reception given to him and his team and took the opportunity to present the blue-print of NVU entitled “Answer the Call of Vanuatu” and some car stickers.

The Trade Commissioner and his team were received by the Vice-Chancellor of the University, (Prof. Kwaku Adutwum Ayim Boakye), the Acting Pro. Vice-Chancellor (Prof. Lawrence Atepor), the Registrar (Dr. Francis Narh Akrono), the Director of Public Affairs, (Mr. Benjamin Edu-Mensah), the Director of Finance (Mr. Kwabena Owusu), the Director of Internal Audit (Mr. Stephen A. Atianeere), the Librarian (Dr. Kojo Atiso), the Director of Academic Affairs (Dr. Anthony H. Turkson) and Director of DIPIL (Mr. Uriah Stonewell Tetteh).

Source: Directorate of Public Affairs