Apparently worried by rising cases of piracy within the Gulf of Guinea the United States of America through its embassy in Benin Republic will from today (March 27 through to 29) host 100 experts from the West and Central African economic communities – ECOWAS and ECCAS – to a workshop geared towards beefing up security in the region.
Deliberations at the forum which is slated for Cotonou; the Beninoise capital is expcted to revolve around “Cooperative Mechanisms for Maritime Security in Central and West Africa.”
Apparently worried by rising cases of piracy within the Gulf of Guinea the United States of America through its embassy in Benin Republic will from today (March 27 through to 29) host 100 experts from the West and Central African economic communities – ECOWAS and ECCAS – to a workshop geared towards beefing up security in the region.
Deliberations at the forum which is slated for Cotonou; the Beninoise capital is expcted to revolve around “Cooperative Mechanisms for Maritime Security in Central and West Africa.”
According to Ronda Watson, Director of Public Relations at the US Embassy in Benin, the conclave will “provide a platform for experts and decision-makers to consider joint approaches in ensuring security in their territorial waters.
” Experts have frequently warned that the protracting absence of collective effort in fending off crime in the Gulf of Guinea has fast-tracked its transformation into a safe haven by pirates, drugs, weapons dealers, human and wildlife traffickers, mercenaries and ransom-seeking militant groups, among others. According to Watson, “promoting security in the maritime space will inferably imply promoting economic development in both sub-regions.” The US initiative adds to an unfolding series of efforts to help scale up security in the region.
In recent years, the US has been deploying military trainers to boost the capacities of African navies in the region. It has also encouraged collaboration against pirates between several countries, though these are yet to bear palpable fruits as pirate attacks continue. Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea is still not on a par with that being witnessed in the Horn of Africa. But analysts report a gradual surge. Some 35 pirate attacks were recorded off the coasts of Benin in 2011, for example, against none the previous year, and only one in 2009.
Pirates have successfully raided banks and killed government officials and soldiers in Cameroon, stormed the presidential palace in Malabo, hijacked oil vessels and killed crew members, as well as caused oil production slowdowns in Nigeria.
The UN Security Council as well as various US think-tanks have warned that these are real threats for an ill-equipped region. They say apart from ushering in insecurity,the increasing presence of the criminals will eventually negatively impact trade and economic activity. The Gulf of Guinea, stretching along West Africa’s coast from Guinea to Angola is a major shipping canal.
Additionally, experts in Washington estimate the region will supply about a quarter of U.S. oil by 2015. The Gulf of Guinea countries currently produce over 3 million barrels of oil per day.That’s about 4 percent of total global output, destined mainly for European and American markets. Nigeria leads the pack with 2.2 million barrels per day and new oilfields are coming online in various countries.
Experts say the piracy situation risks being exacerbated by involvement from Latin American drug traffickers. UN estimates indicate that $1 billion worth of cocaine, destined for Europe from Latin America, passed through West Africa in 2008 and especially Guinea Bissau, which has earned notoriety West Africa’s cocaine transit point.
Discussion about this post