AOBMOG CEO Joins Diplomats and Maritime Experts at UNCITRAL at 60 Symposium

Accra, Ghana | 26 October 2026

Alex Boateng, Chief Executive Officer of Africa Ocean Bridge Maritime Operations Group (AOBMOG) and Lecturer at the Regional Maritime University, contributed as a panellist at the UNCITRAL at 60 Symposium in Accra, bringing maritime operations and industry education perspectives to an international dialogue on the future of trade.

Held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs alongside the opening for signature of the United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents, known as the Accra Convention, the symposium marked six decades of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s work in harmonising and modernising international trade law.

For AOBMOG, the occasion provided an opportunity to contribute practical industry experience to discussions with direct implications for importers, exporters, freight forwarders and businesses trading across borders.

Sharing the panel with diplomatic and maritime leaders

Mr Boateng spoke in Session III, “UNCITRAL at 60: Six Decades of Harmonizing International Trade Law.” The session examined UNCITRAL’s achievements and continuing role in the international carriage of goods, digitalisation and dispute settlement.

Moderated by H.E. Matilda Aku Alomatu Osei-Agyeman, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ghana to the United Nations in Vienna, the panel brought together:

• H.E. Michael Imran Kanu, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the United Nations in New York.
• H.E. Diarra Dimé-Labille, Ambassador of France to Ghana.
• Mr Gaston Kenfack, Director at Cameroon’s Ministry of Justice.
• Dr Kofi Mbiah, former Chief Executive of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority and delegate to UNCITRAL on the Rotterdam Rules.
• Mr Alex Boateng, Lecturer at the Regional Maritime University and Chief Executive Officer of AOBMOG.

The discussion connected diplomatic and legal perspectives with the practical realities of moving goods through ports and across regional transport corridors.

Bringing operational experience to the global trade discussion

Mr Boateng’s contribution focused on the gap between international trade frameworks and their everyday application.

Drawing on maritime operations and education, he highlighted familiar challenges: vessels arriving before original documents, cargo waiting while paperwork moves between banks, and the accumulation of demurrage and storage costs during documentary delays.

He also addressed the challenges facing traders moving goods from coastal ports to inland markets. His contribution explored how negotiable cargo documents could support more connected transport arrangements and create opportunities to finance goods while they are in transit.

For businesses using corridors such as Tema to Burkina Faso, these questions have practical significance. Documentation affects when cargo can move, how risks are managed and when working capital becomes available.

Why the Accra Convention matters to global trade

The Accra Convention provides a framework for negotiable cargo documents covering goods transported by sea, road, rail, air or a combination of modes, in paper or electronic form.

Its potential benefits include facilitating the sale of goods in transit, supporting access to trade finance and enabling greater use of electronic documentation across international supply chains.

Realising those benefits requires implementation, reliable systems and industry adoption. The Convention’s opening for signature is a milestone in that process; it does not mean its provisions are already operational everywhere.

Mr Boateng emphasised the importance of connecting digital cargo documentation with the wider trading process. Electronic documents deliver greater value when banks, customs authorities, transport operators and other participants can work with compatible legal and operational arrangements.

Preparing the people who will make implementation work

A central theme of Mr Boateng’s contribution was industry readiness. He organised the skills required around FIELD:

• Freight documentation discipline: accurate information and careful coordination across transport modes.
• Investment and trade finance: the ability to assess documents, goods in transit and financing risks.
• Execution at delivery: reliable procedures for verifying entitlement and releasing cargo.
• Legal and regulatory readiness: understanding electronic records and the rules governing their use.
• Digital competence: practical capability in platforms, data standards and cyber-risk.

He also advocated practitioner training, cooperation between industry and universities, and pilot transactions on regional corridors to help translate legal frameworks into workable processes.

What this means for AOBMOG’s clients

AOBMOG’s participation reflects the connection between its leadership’s operational experience and engagement with developments shaping international trade.

For clients, the relevance is practical: a logistics partner should understand how documentation, regulation, financing and transport coordination affect the movement of their goods.

AOBMOG’s contribution to the symposium centred on these concerns—bringing the realities of maritime operations into a discussion about making global trade more efficient, accessible and dependable.