Ghana on track to address maritime security issues – Deputy Minister

Ghana has begun a process to de-limit the maritime boundary between the country and Togo, a Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mohammad Habibu Tijani has said. Additionally, government is strengthening the legal regime on piracy and maritime crime by moving the Ghana Maritime Offences Bill forward to enhance the maritime criminal justice system to be able to effectively prosecute prospective offenders within Ghana’s maritime jurisdiction. The Deputy Minister was outlining challenges and commitments in addressing Ghana’s maritime security threats at the just-ended 5th “Our Ocean” Conference in the Indonesian city of Bali. This year’s conference, the first to be held in Asia, gathered over 600 commitments which is valued at about US$ 18 billion and created 12.4 square kilometers of marine protected area. The Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Habibu Tijani led a delegation to represent the Minister for Foreign Affairs at the conference. The Deputy Minister was joined by Ghana’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, Akua Ahenkra and other officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration. At the conference, the Deputy Minister presented a statement on “Ghana’s initiatives in addressing maritime security issues” on a panel. In a related development, the Indonesia-Africa Maritime Dialogue has been held on the sidelines of the conference. It was attended by senior officials from Indonesian institutions and officials from African countries including Ghana. Other representatives from Fish-I African, Global Fishing Watch, Interpol, and UNODC were also present. The Deputy Minister cited piracy and armed robbery, illegal oil bunkering or theft of crude oil, threat to offshore oil and gas production, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU)fishing, arms, drugs and human trafficking as the major threats to maritime security that Ghana faces. He assured that everything possible was being done to address the concerns. Source: editors.3news.com | Ghana