Nigeria seeks cooperation among African Ports to grow blue economy

Abubakar Dantsoho, managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has asked African ports to work more closely together to grow the continent’s blue economy and boost regional trade.

Dantsoho, at the council meeting of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo, said Africa’s shared waters and maritime resources should unite countries towards common development goals.

He said the association is focusing on key areas such as climate action, digitalisation, and infrastructure resilience to make ports across the region more efficient and sustainable.

The NPA boss noted that African port leaders had earlier agreed at the World Port Conference in Japan to promote growth through stronger policies, better cooperation, and easier trade processes.

“The waters that connect our countries remind us of our duty to work together for the good of all,” he said, reminding that secure and transparent port operations are key to Africa’s competitiveness in global trade.

“Competition has shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation begins where competition leaves off,” Dantsoho said, quoting Franklin D. Roosevelt.