The 2019 GMSC (Global Maritime Security Conference) took place from the 7 to 9 October 2019 in Abuja, Nigeria. Close to 80 countries and organisations participated in this international conference on maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea organised by the Federal Ministry of Transports, the Nigerian Navy and the NIMASA (Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency).
It concluded with the restitution of 17 resolutions which were elaborated from 79 recommendations made by the 10 panels (final release attached).
GoGIN took part in panel n°9 (Enhancing MDA) with CRESMAO, CRESMAC and CRIMSON. This panel, moderated by the professor Jeffrey A. Landsman from the US Naval War College, emphasised the importance of the national level as the primary level for implementation of the Yaoundé Architecture and reinforcement of maritime knowledge.
Our takeaways from this conference are the following:
- Nigeria is going to amplify its activity in terms of maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea alongside neighbouring countries.
- A cooperation in confidence between states, regions, zones, private and international partners must be established from now on in order to better master the maritime domain.
- The consolidation of the legal framework, the development of the exchange of information, and inter-agency cooperation now form axes for immediate action.
- The role of ICC is recognised, despite the fact that the operationalisation of the Yaoundé Architecture does not clearly appear in the release.
This conference is a success, and constitutes an important step towards the political decisions required for the successful implementation of the resolutions. In the coming months, the entirety of the maritime community will be attentive to political and operational decisions as well as to the evolution of criminal acts at sea.
This conference equally ensured a networking role between key actors involved in maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea: maritime authorities of coastal countries; regional maritime centres; the private sector (Bimco, ICS, Ocimf, Imca, etc); regional economic communities (ECOWAS and ECCAS); international organisations (IMO, UNODC, European Union, African Union etc); foreign governments (Brazil, France, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom etc) and collaborative projects (SWAIMS, WeCAPS, etc).
Read related articles on the GMSC website.