G7 Friends holds 2nd meeting in Accra

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hanna Serwah Tetteh, has lauded the efforts and the enthusiasm of the G7 Friends of the Gulf of Guinea Group for its commitment in dealing with maritime safety along the Gulf of Guinea.

According to her, the fact that the second meeting was being held within three months after the first in Yaounde in Cameroon was ample indication of the importance of the group and the countries that were located along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea.

“I am reliably informed that the first meeting of the Group was held in Yaounde, Cameroon, in September earlier this year. The fact that this second meeting is being held within three months after the first is ample indication of the importance the Group and the countries that are located along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea,” the minister said.

She said this yesterday in Accra at the opening of the second meeting of the G7 Friends of the Gulf of Guinea Group.

Ms. Hanna Tetteh noted with great concern, the increasing threats to the maritime/shipping industry over the last five years.

“Progressively, there is a growing concern about threats posed by piracy, armed robbery at sea, narcotics trafficking, and illegal, unreported and undocumented fishing within the Gulf of Guinea,” she asserted.

The increasing incidence of the afore-mentioned criminal activities along the countries of the Gulf with almost half of the reported incidence occurring off Nigeria and Cameroon, she observed, was extremely alarming.

The dangers posed by the rise of religious fundamentalism in the sub-region as depicted by violent activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magherb (AQIM,) the minister intimated, were also sending foreboding signals to regional peace and security.

According to her, in the report by the United Nations Security Council in February 2012, it was captured that piracy accounted for the current annual loss of $2 billion revenue to West African economies.

She continued that about 70% of Africa’s oil production was concentrated in the West African coast of Gulf of Guinea.

The foreign minister added that oil production in the Gulf of Guinea was expected to surpass total oil production of Persian Gulf nations in the year 2020.