Int’l Teak Conference Committee Inaugurated

Member of the committee in a group photo with Mr. Afriyei after the short inauguration ceremony.

The leadership of the Forestry Commission (FC) has inaugurated a 13-member Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the 4th International Teak Conference to be held in Ghana.

The LOC will be responsible for the planning and organization of the conference which would be hosted by the FC and TEAKNET, from 24th – 27th August 2020, in Accra.

The conference themed, “Global teak market: Challenges and opportunities for emerging markets and developing economies,” will have at least 300 teak stakeholders from across the world.

The participants will among others deliberate on issues affecting the teak industry and the way forward.

The LOC members include Deputy Chief Executive, FC, John Allotey, as the chair of the committee with Mr.  Huge Brown acting as the vice chair.

Other members of the LOC are Mrs. Valeria Funney Nassah, Mr. Mike Asaam, Mrs Joyce Kwafo, Dr Beatrice Darko-Obiri, Nana Yaw Barima, Mr. William Fourie, Mr. Andrews Adjei-Yeboah, Professor Dan Ofori, Mr. Samuel Kwasi Asante, Mrs. Mercy Owusu-Ansah and Mr. Joseph Osiakwan.

Chief Executive Officer of the FC, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, inaugurating the committee said the country was selected for the conference because of its contribution to teak production in Africa.

He entreated the committee to develop a detailed strategy and an implementation plan to ensure that the 4th international conference would be the best so far.

“You need to ensure that our rich Ghanaian culture and excellent forestry technical expertise is brought to bear in the upcoming event because it is the first time that World Teak Conference is being organized in Africa and Ghana for that matter,” he said.

Mr. Allotey on behalf of the LOC members expressed gratitude for their selection and promised that the committee will live up to the task.

“As you can see the members have the requisite skills and experience to accomplish this task successfully,” he said.

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri