Ghana is seeking technical support from the United Arab Emirates to establish a new national airline, following a two-day state visit by Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

In a statement following the visit, the Ghanaian foreign ministry said the visit explored “potential collaboration in areas such as renewable energy, artificial intelligence, education, healthcare, aviation, defence, and labour export.”

In a personal social media post on May 13, Ablakwa said: “We obtained commitments from UAE companies who will be arriving in Ghana over the next few weeks to invest in sectors such as renewable energy, AI, education, health, aviation and defence – consistent with [John] Mahama’s declaration that Ghana is open for business again. We also discussed two priority areas of President Mahama’s government, being labour export for Ghanaian youth to the UAE and technical support for a new national airline.”

The government recently set up a 10-member task team to write the business plan and operational framework for a new national airline.

Ghana has made several failed attempts to revive its national airline after the collapse of Ghana Airways (Accra) in 2004 and Ghana International Airlines (Accra) in 2010.