The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the city of Port of Spain in the Trinidad and Tobago to consolidate the sister-city relationship between the two cities.
The MOU will also strengthen the socio-economic trades and partnerships between Ghana and the Trinidad and Tobago, which share common historical antecedents linked to the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism, the hard-fought anti-colonialism and independence struggles.
The twinning process of the two cities began in 2019 when Ghana first marked the “The Year of Return”.
It was initiated by the Ghana-Caribbean Chamber of Commerce, an institution whose mission is to build bridges between business communities in Ghana and the Caribbean.
Mr Samuel Pyne, Chief Executive of KMA, who signed on behalf of the Assembly, said the MOU would help concretise the relationship between the cities and unlock the economic opportunities for businesses.
It would also chart a new path for their citizens to explore social and other productive opportunities in their mutual interests.
On his part, Mr Alderman Joel Matrinez, Mayor of Port of Spain, who led a four-man delegation to sign the MOU, said it was a historic moment for the two cities, which had many things in common to come together to forge a stronger relationship between their people in the areas of trade, business, culture and tourism.
He said the two cities were exploring creative ways to harness the tourism potentials for economic bonds and sustainable development centering on cultural heritages, social lifestyle and tourism potentials of Ghana and the Trinidad and Tobago.
Dr Susan Alfred, President of the Ghana-Caribbean Chamber of Commerce, declared after the signing: “Ghana -Caribbean Chamber of Commerce is a vehicle of change for the whole Caribbean. We are one people – Barbados, Jamaica, Surinam, Guadeloupe, etc. “Let’s move with our brothers and sisters in Ghana and the whole African continent,” she stated after the ceremony.
Ghana and the Caribbean share a common heritage through the 360-year history of the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism, and hard-fought anti-colonialism and independence struggles.
Efforts have been made by the African Diaspora in the Caribbean over the years to reconnect with their ancestral roots to build on their shared genealogy and culture.
Yet, opportunities to forge partnerships and business relations between Ghana and the Caribbean remain significantly under-utilised.
Hence, the Ghana-Caribbean Chamber of Commerce in 2019 saw the opportunity to create that connection for the two cities when the Ghanaian Government declared 2019 as the historic “Year of Return” objectively to create an opportunity for the African Diasporas to visit their ‘homeland’ Ghana to bring them together in fond unity for mutual benefits.