Honorable Deputy Mensah, accompanied by the Director General of the Ghana Rescue Service, prof. Ahmed Nuhu ZAKARIAH, Technical Adviser to Ghana Finance Minister Mrs.Joyce Awuku-Darko OSEI, Director of Amprofi Group Ghana, Mr. Kwaku Kyei Agyeman Ampromfi and accompanying delegation arrived in the Czech Republic at the invitation of the Hagemann company to negotiate delivery of 300 vehicles of rescue system built on Mercedes-Benz chassis.The visit was preceded by a meeting of Mr. Zdeněk Gróman, owner of Hagemann, in Ghana in December 2017, and in July 2018, when the issue was discussed at the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance of Ghana. In line with the one district-one factory government policy, the project should also include the construction of an assembly plant to produce around 250 rescue vehicles in Ghana, with the first 50 pieces being made in the Czech Republic.

On Saturday, November 10, 2018, Ghanaian delegation visited the Czech manufacturer of street sweepers, sanitation trucks and waste collection vehicles, the company KOBIT, in the city of Jičín, where they discussed the possibility of supply of these vehicles, given that waste treatment and waste management is one of the most pressing problems of contemporary Ghanaian government. Another point of the program was a visit by Kofola a.s. in Mnichovo Hradiště where delegates discussed the possibility of a Czech investment in a non-alcoholic beverage plant.

The working program of the delegation was launched on 12 November 2018 by a visit to the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM) in Prague, and reception of the delegates by MUDr. Aleš Herman, Ph.D. and cardio-center chief prof. MUDr. Jan Pirk, DrSc. At the beginning of the meeting, a short presentation of the functioning of IKEM, realized operations, successes and plans for the future was prepared for delegates. Honorable Deputy Mensah raised the question of the possibility of sending Ghanaian cardiology surgeons to IKEM and the possibility of using kidney donors from the Czech Republic for Ghana patients. While the first question was a positive answer, the Czech kidney donors should prefer recipients from the Czech Republic and only if no recipient in Czech Republic is available the organ can be applied to other recipients. Due to the lack of qualified nurses in the Czech Republic, the Ghanaian side was also offered the opportunity to provide their nurses. The visit to IKEM was completed with a tour of several departments.

Due to request of Honorable Deputy minister Mensah, the Delegation subsequently moved to the dispatching center of Ambulance Meditrans s.r.o. in Prague 4, where delegates learned about the functioning of their rescue system from the initial acceptance of the request to the transfer of the patient to the destination.

The afternoon program started by visiting Aero Vodochody a.s. in order to find the possibility of cooperation between the Ghanaian and the Czech defense industry, especially in the area of air support to the Ghana peacekeeping corps. Aero Sales Director Petr Kalaš presented briefly the company, its products and its achievements and highlighted the recently completed development of the new Czech jet aircraft L-39NG. About this product have already expressed interest some foreign customers and could be a suitable aircraft for the Ghana Air Force too. After visiting the manufacturing and assembling lines the delegates briefly discussed the possibility of supply air ambulance, but it was rather a question to the company LET Kunovice with appropriate modification of their aircraft L-410.

The last meeting on 12 November 2018 took place at the Czech Export Bank (ČEB) a.s., with the participation of the Head of the Export Finance Division, Tomáš Hadžega and several other ČEB representatives. Mr.Stephen Kolanda, representing the Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation (EGAP), also attended the meeting. The main topic of the meeting was the financing of the project, with ČEB ready to provide the full financing in the form of a loan with deferred maturity. Honorable Deputy Mensah, welcomed the offer of ČEB and said that due to the competitive offers from Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey, the tender procedure is managed by a government selection panel that decides on suppliers. However, as the project has the highest priority, a decision is expected before the end of 2018 so that any installments can be put into Ghana's budget for 2019.

On 13 November 2018, a full-day program was organized for the delegation in the form of a visit to the Hagemann production plant in Opava. The delegation, after a short presentation in the main building, inspected the workplace of the check-in control, assembly halls, checkout, service and spare parts. On the site, delegates looked at various types of van superstructures, including several rescue modifications, which were fitted to different types of chassis and expressed great satisfaction with the tour. In conclusion, Honorable Deputy Mensah suggested that due to the time and the anticipated difficulties associated with setting up assembly plant in Ghana, it would prefer to purchase 200 pieces of rescue vehicles with delivery by the end of 2019.

On the morning of November 14, 2018, a tour of the main Mercedes-Benz branch in the Czech Republic was scheduled in Prague 4, where delegates were assured that the delivery of the first 50 chassis was probably 3-4 months from the order, and another 150 pieces were then able deliver within 6 to 8 months.

The final point of the work program of the delegation was the admission to the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic by the Minister Mgr. et Mgr. Adam Vojtěch. After welcoming the delegation to Minister Vojtěch, Honorable Deputy Mensah introduced the Minister to the members of her delegation, informed him of the intention of the Ghanaian Government to acquire 200-300 rescue vehicles and gave him very positive impressions of meetings in the Czech Republic. Czech Ambassador to Ghana. Followed by a statement of the director of the Ghana Rescue Service, prof. Zakariah, that the purchase of ambulances is only the first step, which should be followed by a assembly plant of rescue vehicles in Ghana with the transfer of production technology. JUDr.Margita Fuchsová, who accompanied the delegation in the Czech Republic, then informed the Minister about other activities of Czech companies in the field of health care. This is in particular the recently completed project of construction of 10 policlinics in the central part of Ghana by Vamed Health Projects, as well as the work of doctors from the Czech Republic providing professional and free assistance in the treatment of clefts, ear and eye problems. She also drew attention to the Ghana Health Ministry's offer to provide trained nurses to meet the needs of the Czech Ministry of Health and to organize a PROPED presentation show for Czech pharmaceutical and healthcare companies in Ghana.

The Minister thanked the delegation for the visit, the expressed interest in Czech products and the incentives for mutual cooperation. He expressed the hope that this project will be successfully implemented and will be the beginning of deeper bilateral relations between the two ministries.

Tomáš Zázvorka, Commercial Counselor, Embassy of the Czech Republic in Accra