Ghana plans to revive its national airline in partnership with the UAE
Ghana is actively exploring the re-establishment of a national airline with technical assistance from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following high-level diplomatic discussions in Abu Dhabi.
Ghana is pursuing the revival of a national airline with assistance from the UAE, revealed during diplomatic discussions in Abu Dhabi.
The initiative aligns with President Mahama's development priorities and includes employment opportunities in the UAE.
The discussions have paved the way for increased investment opportunities in Ghana from UAE-based companies.
The revelation was made by Ghana's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, 13 May 2025.
The announcement came on the heels of a two-day official visit to the UAE, undertaken at the invitation of the Emirati government.
According to Mr Ablakwa, the bilateral talks included an agreement on UAE support for Ghana's plans to launch a new national carrier. He emphasised that this initiative forms part of the current government's development priorities under President John Dramani Mahama.
'We also discussed two priority areas of President Mahama's government — labour export opportunities for Ghanaian youth in the UAE and technical assistance for establishing a new national airline,' Mr Ablakwa stated.
Engagements with key UAE officials
The Ghanaian delegation met with several senior officials, including His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs; Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State; and Lana Nusseibeh, Assistant Minister for Political Affairs. Ministers responsible for foreign trade and investment were also present during the talks.
Mr Ablakwa confirmed that Ghana and the UAE had agreed to commence formal political consultations — a significant milestone marking the first such engagement between the two nations.
Ghana has made multiple unsuccessful attempts to revive its national airline since the collapse of Ghana Airways in 2004 and the later demise of Ghana International Airlines in 2010. While numerous proposals have been tabled over the years — involving both public and private entities — none have materialised.
However, the Mahama-led government has renewed its commitment to restoring a national carrier. On 8 May 2025, the government inaugurated a 10-member National Airline Task Force to oversee the revival process.
Mandate of the National Airline task force
The newly established task force has been tasked with developing a robust business model, coordinating with international technical and strategic partners, and securing regulatory approvals. Additionally, it will supervise operational areas such as human resource planning, aircraft procurement, and route development.
The task force is chaired by Charles Asare, a former Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited. Other members include experienced aviation professionals, ex-officials of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, and Joyce Bawa Mogtari, who serves as a presidential advisor.
Mr Ablakwa also reported that the diplomatic engagements had opened the door to fresh investment opportunities from UAE-based companies. Key sectors identified for collaboration include renewable energy, artificial intelligence, education, healthcare, aviation, and defence.
He noted that these opportunities are aligned with President Mahama's renewed vision for Ghana's economic transformation, stating that the president is 'sending a clear message to the global investment community that Ghana is open for business again.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
30 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. sheriff's officials apologize, delete tweet calling Iranians ‘victims' of ‘tragic' bombings
On the same day the U.S. military bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department said on its social media channels their 'hearts go out' to Iranian 'victims.' The post sparked quick backlash — and a quick apology. It's unclear what time the initial message, which was on X, Facebook and Instagram, was posted Sunday. The department deleted the post from X and edited its Facebook and Instagram posts to remove the first two sentences. An apology issued Sunday evening referred to the original post as 'offensive and inappropriate.' According to a screenshot of the tweet from KTLA, the original post read, 'Our hearts go out to the victims and families impacted by the recent bombings in Iran. While this tragic event occurred overseas, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is closely monitoring the situation alongside our local, state, and federal partners.' The post also stated that, although there are no known threats to Los Angeles County, the department would be increasing patrol checks at places of worship and other sensitive locations throughout the county 'out of an abundance of caution.' The edited versions of the post on Instagram and Facebook exclude the first sentence of the original post and any mention of Iran, instead stating that the department is monitoring 'the situation overseas.' In its apology, the department said the post was made in error and did not reflect the views of Sheriff Robert G. Luna or the department. 'As a law enforcement agency, we do not comment on foreign policy or military matters. Our mission remains solely focused on protecting public safety and serving our diverse communities,' the statement continued. The department has launched an internal review to determine how the posts were created and published, and it is taking steps to strengthen 'social media oversight protocols,' the statement said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘Ticking time bomb': Ice detainee dies in transit as experts say more deaths likely
A 68-year-old Mexican-born man has become the first Ice detainee in at least a decade to die while being transported from a local jail to a federal detention center, and experts have warned there will likely be more such deaths amid the current administration's 'mass deportation' push across the US. Abelardo Avellaneda Delgado's exact cause of death remains under investigation, according to Ice, but the Guardian's reporting reveals a confusing and at times contradictory series of events surrounding the incident. The death occurred as private companies with little to no oversight are increasingly tasked with transporting more immigration detainees across the US, in pursuit of the Trump administration's recently-announced target of arresting 3,000 people a day. 'The system is so loaded with people, exacerbating bad conditions – it's like a ticking time bomb,' said Amilcar Valencia, executive director of El Refugio, a Georgia-based organization that works with detainees at Stewart detention center and their families. Avellaneda Delgado lived most of the last 40 years in the US, raising a large family, working on tobacco and vegetable farms – and never gaining legal immigration status. He was arrested in Statenville, Georgia on 9 April due to a parole violation – and died on 5 May in the back of a van about half-way between the Lowndes county jail and Stewart detention center. His family say their search for answers has been frustrating, and have hired an attorney to help. Two of Avellaneda Delgado's six children who lived with their father told the Guardian he had no health conditions before being detained – but somehow was put in a wheelchair during the weeks he spent in jail, and was unable to speak during a family visit. The Guardian learned that he was given medications while in jail. 'Junior' Avellaneda, who bears his father's name and is the youngest, said he and his sister, Nayely, were rebuffed several times in their attempts to visit their father during the 25 days he was in jail, receiving emails that said only 'visit request denied'. Screenshots of the emails were shared with the Guardian. On 4 May, Junior finally was allowed a visit and drove the 30 minutes from the house where he lives with his father and Nayely, in Statenville. At the jail, he was shocked to see his father brought out in a wheelchair. 'My heart drops,' Junior said of the moment he saw Abelardo Sr. 'I'm thinking, 'What's he doing in the wheelchair?' Junior, 32, said he had never seen his father like that. The two sat facing each other, with a glass partition between them. 'I tried to get his attention and tapped on the glass. He was zoned out. At one point, he tried to stand up and fell back on his chair.' 'He didn't make eye contact with me and kept bobbing his head left and right,' he said. Junior asked a jail staffer accompanying Abelardo, Sr to hold the phone to his ear. 'I said, 'Dad, please answer me! Say something to me!' He just said, 'Hmmmm.' It broke me.' The staffer told Junior: 'We gave him his medication, that's probably why he's that way.' He thought, what medication? His father never took any medications at home, he said. Lowndes county jail's Capt Jason Clifton told the Guardian that Avellaneda Delgado was kept in the medical unit of the jail. Asked why, he referred to 'a note in the system that says he hadn't been eating enough, and didn't like the food'. 'I don't believe he was on any medications,' Clifton said. 'I don't see anything in the medical chart.' Told about Junior's account, the captain checked with the jail's nurse, who listed five medications being given to Avellaneda Delgado, two of which were for high blood pressure, plus an antibiotic. The morning after Junior's visit, the local jail handed Avellaneda Delgado over to Ice, for transport to Stewart detention center. Several hours later, Webster county coroner Steven D Hubbard was called to Weston, Georgia, where the van transporting Avellaneda Delgado had stopped on 5 May, after the driver called 911. A text summarizing the call sent by police to Hubbard said Avellaneda Delgado was 'unresponsive', with a blood pressure of 226/57. When the coroner arrived at the scene, he was already dead. The coroner told investigative reporter and immigration researcher Andrew Free he suspected that an aortic aneurysm was the cause of death. The Guardian heard a recording of the interview. Hubbard told the Guardian he doesn't know where the blood pressure reading cited in the text summarizing the 911 call came from – 'but if that was his blood pressure when he left Lowndes, he shouldn't have been going to Stewart. He should've been going to the hospital.' Avellaneda Delgado's family only learned of his death because the Mexican consulate in Atlanta called Nayely with the news – a pattern seen in most deaths under Ice custody, said Valencia, of El Refugio. 'You want to know what happened, but you face a system that is stopping access every step of the way,' he said. Ice's press release on the incident says the death is 'under investigation'. But Clifton and Hubbard both told the Guardian no one has contacted them, more than a month later. The family has learned there are at least two public agencies and three private companies that may have answers about what happened: Lowndes county and Ice; plus CoreCivic, which runs Stewart; CoreCivic's wholly-owned subsidiary TransCor, the company paid to transport detainees; and Southern Health Partners, the company paid to provide healthcare to detainees in Lowndes county jail. The Guardian asked Ice, TransCor and CoreCivic about the incident – including whether vans and buses transporting immigration detainees are equipped with cameras. Ice and TransCor did not respond. Ryan Gustin, senior director of public affairs for CoreCivic, said: 'At TransCor, the safety and security of the public, our staff, and those entrusted to our care are our highest priorities. To that end, we do not publicly disclose how the TransCor fleet is equipped, related to safety and security equipment.' Transportation of detainees is more under the control of private companies than in the past, said Katherine Culliton-González, chief policy counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. TransCor president Curtiss D Sullivan titled the company's 2025 first quarter outlook 'The Time for Growth is Now'. CoreCivic's TransCor is not the only company growing its transport business under Trump; the Geo Group, which runs 16 immigration detention centers across the country, also has a transportation subsidiary. Added to the privatization of services needed for Trump's mass immigration push is the decimation of agencies performing federal oversight of Ice – including the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Ciberties (CRCL) and the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (Oido), said Culliton-González. In this setting, 'how can we hold private companies accountable?' she said. The issue of oversight will be increasingly important as more health issues and deaths follow the increasing number of detainees being transported around the country. 'Ice right now is all about more people coming in, and pushing them through [to deportation],' said Dora Schriro, a consultant on immigration and former Ice official. 'As input/output grows – not just in size, but in speed – the likelihood of making mistakes is going to increase,' Schriro said. 'Ice should make sure every person they take from law enforcement is fit for travel – for the length and conditions of being transported.' Avellaneda Delgado was the first Ice detainee in at least a decade to die while being transported from a local jail to a federal detention center, said Free, who also wrote about the case for ACPC, an Atlanta-based digital outlet. Meanwhile, Avellaneda Delgado's children just spent their first Father's Day without him. The day was doubly difficult for the youngest because it was also his birthday. Heavy rains kept the family from visiting Avellaneda Delgado's grave. 'It bothers me,' Junior said. Then he added: 'He was a great grandfather.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Republican representative's ectopic pregnancy clashes with Florida abortion law
A Florida Republican congresswoman is blaming fearmongering on the left for the reluctance of hospital staff to give her the drugs she needed to end an ectopic pregnancy that threatened her life. Kat Cammack went to the emergency room in May 2024 where it was estimated she was five weeks into an ectopic pregnancy, there was no heartbeat and her life was at risk. Doctors determined she needed a shot of methotrexate to help expel her pregnancy but since Florida's six week abortion ban had just taken effect medical staff were worried about losing their licenses or going to jail if they did. Cammack looked up the state law on her phone to show staff and even attempted to contact the governor's office. Hours later, doctors eventually agreed to give her the medication. Related: Women and men diverge more than ever on support for abortion rights, poll shows But Cammack, who opposes abortion and co-chairs the House pro-life caucus, told the Wall Street Journal she blames messaging from pro-abortion groups for delaying her treatment, which is not banned under Florida's restrictive statutes, who have created fear of criminal charges. Over a year later and once again pregnant and due to give birth soon, Cammack says the politics of the incident have stuck with her. 'It was absolute fearmongering at its worst,' Cammack told the publication, but acknowledged that abortion rights groups might interpret her experience differently and blame Republican-led, restrictive anti-abortion laws for the issue. 'There will be some comments like, 'Well, thank God we have abortion services,' even though what I went through wasn't an abortion,' she told the outlet. Florida's strict abortion ban, which took effect on 1 May 2024, makes abortions illegal after six weeks, when most people aren't even aware yet that they are pregnant. After months in which medical staff were concerned that the law's wording made emergency procedures illegal, the state's healthcare agency issued official guidance to 'address misinformation' on permitting an abortion in instances where the pregnant person's life and health are in danger. Cammack said she hoped that going public with her experience would help opposing political groups find common ground. Related: Democrats introduce bill that aims to protect reproductive health data 'I would stand with any woman – Republican or Democrat – and fight for them to be able to get care in a situation where they are experiencing a miscarriage and an ectopic' pregnancy, she said. Abortion rights activists say the law created problems. Florida regulators say ectopic pregnancies aren't abortions and are exempt from restrictions, but Molly Duane, with the Center for Reproductive Rights, told the Wall Street Journal the law doesn't define ectopic pregnancy, which can be difficult to diagnose. Alison Haddock, the president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, told the outlet care in early pregnancy is a 'medically complicated space' and that doctors in abortion-restricted states worry 'whether their clinical judgment will stand should there be any prosecution'.
