JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – 21 July, 2019 – Paramount Group, the African-based global aerospace and technology company, announced its support for the Ghanaian Navy’s 60th anniversary celebrations by securing the Platinum Sponsorship at the upcoming International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference (IMDEC) to be held on the 24th and 25th of July in Accra, Ghana.
Senior Vice President of Paramount Group, Mr. Eric Ichikowitz, who will be leading the Paramount Group delegation said:
“We have a very strong and lasting relationship with the Ghanaian Navy and it is a great privilege to support this momentous occasion of its 60th Anniversary. It is through partnerships like this that governments can unlock the vast benefits of the Blue Ocean economy by creating indigenous and regional naval capabilities that will bolster local manufacturing, skills development and technology transfer.”
Themed “60 Years of Naval Excellence: Securing the Maritime Domain for National Development” the conference will serve as the largest gathering of Africa’s public and private sector maritime stakeholders, with more than fifteen Chiefs of Naval Staff amongst a multitude of attendees, convening to participate in more than twenty interactive sessions hosted by the Ghanaian Navy.
According to Ichikowitz who is also a key speaker at IMDEC: “This Conference affords Paramount Group and our stakeholders in the African security and defence space with a timely opportunity to present strategic, localised, and cost-efficient methodologies and solutions necessary to secure some of Africa’s most important assets: its waterways.”
“We are looking forward to deliberate upon lasting solutions for addressing the socio-economical threats of piracy, human and drug trafficking, illegal fishing, bunkering and armed robberies that impact the present security and future potential of Africa’s maritime and coastal waters.”
IMDEC 2019 will consist of in-depth panel discussions, breakout sessions and VIP exhibition tours of the Sekondi Naval Base in coastal Ghana, among other elite military facilities. Attendees will engage in dialogues regarding the potential for improving the effectiveness and versatility of marine vessels, cyber security and electronic warfare in a marine context, localising production and enhancing mechanical repair and overhaul (MRO) services across the Gulf of Guinea through strategic investment, alongside overviewing interagency approaches to governance and regulation.
Paramount Group serves as a proud partner of African navies offering a large range of advanced, multi-role naval vessels from interceptor, light strike vessels to off-shore patrol vessels. In addition, the group provides a myriad of systems installation and integration programmes, offering lifetime support, often in a local capacity, through equipment upgrades installation and high-skills training. Paramount Group leverages its decades of experience and expertise to develop and upgrade shore facilities in order for their partners to operate more efficiently, economically and sustainably.
“We are excited to join the Ghanaian Navy at IMDEC 2019, an event we anticipate will foster newfound dialogue and best practice in collaboration and innovation for securitizing the Gulf of Guinea. The ECOWAS is home to one of Africa’s foremost oil and gas enclaves that unfortunately today has grown increasingly volatile, costing the region billions of dollars in economic activity. We look forward to continuing to play a role in safeguarding these coastal waters in tandem with our partners across the region,” Ichikowitz concluded.
