ACEP commends Ghana, Ivory Coast over commitment to ITLOS ruling

Gloria Afua Akuffo (with wig) and Adama Toungara led the delegations for the two countries[/caption] The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has commended Ghana and La Cote d’Ivoire for agreeing to abide by Saturday’s decision of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Immediately after the ruling by the President of the Special Chamber, Boualem Bouaguetaia, leaders of the delegation of Ghana and La Cote d’Ivoire – Gloria Akuffo and Adama Toungara respectively – issued a joint communiqué, accepting the judgement. Proceeding to court, in the first place, has been described by ACEP as a choice of peace over conflict. “ACEP commends the legal teams and industry experts who committed time and resources on both sides to see the dispute to a successful end,” it said in a statement on Monday. “This decision by ITLOS provides clarity and certainty of the delimitation between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.” ACEP admitted in the statement signed by Executive Director Benjamin Boakye that the conflict had negative implications for upstream activities, citing halt in Tullow’s new drilling activities, for example. It asked other African countries to take a cue from the dispute resolution between Ghana and La Cote d’Ivoire “to properly define, document and sign all boundary agreements most of which were inherited from the colonial era to prevent future disputes”. “The clarity on boundary delimitation provides certainty and could improve investment attraction.” It called on companies which have suspended activities to “quickly move to site and comply with their minimum work obligations or relinquish their interests”. By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|3news.com|Ghana Follow @kwame_amoh]]>