Finally, Mama Africa is racing against the clock to maintain security and build peace in the turbulent Gulf of Guinea, where piracy incidents are reputed to be the highest in the world.
ACCRA, March 28-29 – The Ghana Navy and the Ministry of Defense, in partnership with the International Quality and Productivity Centre, brought together experts in the maritime security in Africa and other advanced countries, to discuss and adopt modern strategies to deal effectively with maritime threats; at the third Coastal and Maritime Surveillance Africa conference and defense exhibition, at the Accra International Conference Centre.
The conference, which is on the theme: “Delivering Total Surveillance of African Maritime Domains,” is one of the initiatives the security chiefs are taking to help naval forces in West Africa to deal with growing pirates and other criminal activities. The event brought together some of the world's best experts and professionals in maritime security and surveillance to discuss solutions to Africa maritime threats and vulnerabilities.
The conference brought together Ghana Vice President, Minister of Defense and all three chiefs of Ghana along with navies and maritime authorities of: Nigeria, Mauritania, Tanzania, Cameroon, Togo, Tunisia, Angola, United States, Spain, Italy, United Nations, NATO, Sierra Leone, MOWCA, CEMLAWS Africa and many more who seek to explore ways to combat rising incidents of piracy, oil theft, armed robbery at sea and other nefarious activities affecting West African nations.
This crucial and unique conference included delegates from the highest echelons of government, the tri-services, police and maritime authorities have pushed African leaders to urge African countries to seek new solutions and maintain maritime security.
The event brought together the highest echelons of government officials, the Ghana Armed Forces, Chiefs of Navies and Air Forces across Africa, international maritime experts, global defense industries and top executives of oil and gas companies, to share ideas and deliberate on maritime security issues facing the African continent. The Conference also placed special emphasis on the effective utilization of maritime and coastal surveillance systems to combat the illegal use of the Gulf of Guinea maritime domain.
It is expected that the conference would create an opportunity for the education, networking and collaboration among stakeholders in the defense and security sector, military personnel, maritime security experts, industrialists, the media and the public. Most importantly, the Conference would contribute to the development of Africa’s defense sector through technology, knowledge transfer and help build the platform for the private sector to invest and do business in Africa.