The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has initiated moves to promote fuel trade and investment between Ghana and Mali.

The NPA’s strategy is to continuously engage the Malian authorities and importers to achieve the objective of increasing fuel supply to the Sahelian region.  

Consequently, a delegation from the NPA led by a Deputy Chief Executive, Linda Asante, paid a four-day working visit to Mali.

The team held meetings with key stakeholders including the regulators, Office Malien des Produits Petoliers (OMAP), the  Malian Customs, and the directorate in charge of trade – Direction Generale Commerce de la Consommation et de la Concurrence (DGCCC) and Malian petroleum importers operators.

Mrs Asante said the visit was part of NPA’s strategy to deepen economic relations between Ghana and Mali, and other countries in the sub-region, particularly in the area of fuel trade.

“It was also to discuss matters on trade facilitation and the signing of a trade cooperation agreement between Ghana and Mali,” she added.

The Deputy Chief Executive stated that the idea was to collaborate with key Malian institutions to develop export protocols and sign a trade cooperation agreement to promote fuel trade and investments between the countries.

She also revealed that another key area of focus for the delegation was to strengthen the collaboration between NPA and its counterparts in curbing illicit fuel activities associated with the fuel trade to ensure the tax revenues of both countries are protected, and also ensure that the Ghana-Mali corridor is safeguarded to protect the economic interests of both countries.

The delegation also paid a courtesy call on Ghana’s Ambassador to Mali, Napoleon Abdulai.

Additionally, the visit presented an opportunity to initiate discussions to increase the supply of the fuels currently being supplied (Gasoil, Gasoline and Jet-A1) to Mali and promote LPG imports to the Malian market from Ghana.

The team established a working relationship with the embassy on how to advance the economic interests of Ghana and facilitate the signing of the Trade Cooperation Agreement.