Ghana Deepens Meteorological Cooperation with Italy and Denmark at World Meteorological Congress

By:  Nana Appiah Acquaye

The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has held bilateral meetings with the Italian Air Force Meteorological Services and the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) on the sidelines of the World Meteorological Congress (Cg-Ext 2025) in Geneva.

The discussions, held on October 20, 2025, focused on strengthening Ghana’s meteorological capabilities, enhancing early-warning systems, and fostering deeper international collaboration in weather and climate services.

In the first meeting, Hon. George met with General Luca Baione and General Giuseppe Addesa of the Italian Air Force Meteorological Services to discuss a proposed technical cooperation framework aimed at improving aeronautical weather forecasting for both civil and military aviation in Ghana.

Key areas of collaboration include the development and validation of numerical weather prediction models, space weather forecasting, and hydrological satellite applications to support flood forecasting. The talks also covered wildfire early-warning systems and low-level aviation forecasts to boost Ghana’s aviation safety and climate resilience.

The Italian delegation expressed a strong commitment to formalizing the partnership and presented a draft agreement to be finalized through designated focal points. The Minister described the initiative as “a timely opportunity to enhance aviation safety and operational forecasting capacity” and directed the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) to expedite the process toward a formal technical memorandum of understanding.

Later in the day, Hon. George met with Ms. Marianne Thyrring, Director General and Permanent Representative of the Danish Meteorological Institute, to review progress under the Strategic Sector Cooperation (SSC) between GMet and DMI.

Re-established in 2023 with support from the Danish government, the SSC is a 10-year partnership designed to strengthen institutional capacity, drive digital transformation, and advance climate services development. The programme has already facilitated several short courses, master’s scholarships, and leadership training sessions through the Danida Fellowship Centre, alongside the development of a Ghana Climate Atlas.

Discussions also focused on upcoming milestones, including the completion and launch of the Climate Atlas, expansion of research and training opportunities, and the establishment of a socio-economic impact framework to evaluate the benefits of meteorological services.

The Minister commended Denmark’s sustained support and emphasized the importance of continuing the SSC initiative following the upcoming transition of Mr. Kim Sarup, Sector Counsellor for Meteorology and Climate.

Both bilateral meetings reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to leveraging international partnerships to strengthen meteorological infrastructure, enhance climate resilience, and improve service delivery across aviation, agriculture, and disaster management sectors.

The engagements concluded with a joint commitment to translate the discussions held in Geneva into formal agreements and actionable workplans to advance Ghana’s early-warning systems and digital meteorological transformation.