By Sandra Chukwunyere
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has emphasized the need for regional integration and cooperation among West and Central African countries to address the challenges facing port operations and trade facilitation.
Speaking at the 45th Annual Council Meeting and 20th Roundtable of Managing Directors of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo, Dantsoho called for concerted efforts to unlock the maritime endowment of the region for collective economic prosperity.
The PMAWCA Annual Council Meeting, which was declared open by the Prime Minister and Head of the government of the Republic of Congo, Anatole Collinet Makosso, brought together over 350 delegates and experts from across Africa and beyond. The event, themed “Reinventing Port Zones Management: Towards Sustainable and Resilient Valorization of Port Infrastructure, tackling Economic and Environmental Challenges,” aims to promote sustainable solutions to the challenges facing port operations on the continent.
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Dantsoho, who is also the President of PMAWCA, commended the association for serving as a multilateral organ for regional cooperation among ports in West and Central Africa.
He highlighted the importance of resilient infrastructure in driving growth and competitiveness in the region’s ports, noting that its absence has led to significant economic losses, hampered development, and increased vulnerability for communities.
The PMAWCA President identified three pivotal themes that his administration is interested in: Climate and Energy, Data Collaboration, and Risk and Resilience.
He called for the formulation and implementation of good and robust policies for the optimum utilization of waters for the growth of economies in the region. Dantsoho also urged port operators and stakeholders in the maritime industry to translate their marine comparative advantages into opportunities for collective prosperity.
NPA boss emphasized that countries in West and Central Africa have a shared destiny and are connected by the same developmental challenges, a robust human capital base, and natural resource endowments.
He therefore called on the people of the region to unite and deploy their resources towards solving the issues that militate against their socio-economic progress.
Dantsoho also recalled the commitment made by PMAWCA at the recently concluded World Port Conference 2025 in Kobe, Japan, to deploy a three-pronged approach of Policy Implementation, Renewed Collaboration and Cooperation, and Trade Facilitation to galvanize national and regional efforts towards institutionalizing necessary efficiencies and intra and inter-regional cooperation.
The PMAWCA President gave kudos to the Government and people of the Republic of Congo for hosting the regional meeting, which he said is crucial to the attainment of collective economic prosperity in the sub-region.
He also commended stakeholders from West and Central Africa, Institutional Partners, and International observers for attending the “important meeting of minds.”
The conference, which features speakers such as the Mayor of Pointe-Noire, Evelynne TchitChelle, and the Director-General of the Autonomous Port of Pointe-Noire, Bhalat Seraphin, aims to promote cross-fertilization of ideas and knowledge sharing for mutual development of countries and the advancement of global trade.
