By Augustine Ehikioya
Towards marking the Nigerian Navy’s 68th Anniversary celebrations, an International Maritime Conference (IMC) was organised at the Admiralty Conference Centre, Naval Dockyard Limited, Victoria Island, Lagos from 30 – 31 May 2024.
The Conference was aimed at catalysing effective cooperation on maritime security across Africa as a key driver for unlocking the continent’s immense blue economy potential in line with the vision of the 2050 Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy (AIMS).
Accordingly, the theme of the Conference was ‘Promoting the Blue Economy in Africa through International Cooperation on Maritime Security’.
A statement by Rear Admiral, JD Akpan, for Chief of the Naval Staff, said the Conference attracted about 400 delegates from 15 countries including African heads of navies and coastguards, maritime security experts, academics, private sector representatives, international partners, and civil society organizations.
“Others were representatives from the European Union (EU) and other allied friends of the Nigerian Navy like Benin Republic, Canada, Cameroun, China, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, France, Ghana, Pakistan, Republic of Congo, Senegal, Spain, South Korea and USA.
“There was also representation from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), INTERPOL, as well as regional security and political organizations like the African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) and the Inter-regional Coordination Centre (ICC) in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
“Other participants include eminent retired and serving senior military officers, accomplished scholars on maritime security and blue economy, captains of industry, international maritime partners as well as relevant local and international maritime stakeholders.”
The Conference, it said, discussed 2 main papers. The first paper titled ‘Secured Maritime Environment: A Panacea for Unlocking Africa’s Blue Economy Potentials’ was delivered by Dr Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood.
The paper discussed the relationship between socio-economic index on land and maritime security.
The second lecture titled ‘Leveraging Maritime Security Collaboration for Harnessing Blue Economy in Africa: Strategies and Mechanisms for Success’ was delivered by Dr Paul Adilikwu discussed mechanisms through which cooperation for maritime security would improve the Blue Economy in Africa.
It said that the presentations were followed by interactive sessions during which regional subject matter experts discussed the topics extensively after which the audience made their contributions.
The statement added “All presentations and discussion focused on 4 thematic areas which were maritime governance, sub-regional, regional and international collaboration, information gathering, processing and sharing and improved funding for infrastructural development.
“On completion of the 2-day extensive deliberations, several resolutions were reached towards improving maritime governance and security in the African continent. Subsequently, there would be a meeting between the Heads of Navies and Coast Guards.
“The resolutions reached at the International Maritime Conference held at Naval Dockyard Limited, Lagos Nigeria from 30-31 May 2024 were as follows:
“The Conference agreed to sensitize respective governments on the need to:
(1) Establish a combination of marine and maritime data to establish a mandatory baseline for the development of the Blue Economy. (2) Initiate and drive the development of a comprehensive framework for governance and management of the Blue Economy in the GoG and Africa.
“(3) Facilitate a Whole of Government Approach in developing Africa’s Blue Economy through regular meetings, workshops and joint exercises to enhance coordination, collaboration and communication with all relevant stakeholders.
“(4) Develop funding mechanism to encourage indigenous shipping and infrastructural development. (5) Facilitate the establishment of special funding such as the Maritime Security Trust Fund to fund maritime security operations for member states.
“(6) Foster public-private partnerships (PPPs) involving governments, maritime industry stakeholders, shipping companies, port operators, and security firms to enhance maritime security capabilities and promote the Blue Economy.
“(7) Develop human resource capacity in the Blue Economy in areas such as oceanographic research, ship building and maritime security (8) Encourage joint production of naval hardware especially ships and boats to minimize cost and promote uniformity in manufacture or acquisition of operational equipment towards enhancing interoperability.
“(9) Seek the participation of maritime security forces at the planning stages of major investments projects in the Blue Economy. (10) Encourage regular meetings between the political and military strategic leadership of member states.
“(11) Improve and promote the welfare and socio-economic well- being of coastal communities to mitigate maritime insecurity towards developing the Blue Economy.
“c. Heads of Navies/Coastguards agreed to:
(1) Give impetus to the operationalization and sustainability of the Combined Maritime Task Force (CMTF) in the GoG.
(2) Set up regional maritime information fusion centers to foster collaboration and information sharing among participating countries, law enforcement agencies, navies, and maritime industry stakeholders.
“(3) Enhance the capacity of fusion centers through technology, training, and technical assistance to improve their effectiveness in supporting maritime security operations.
“(4) Drive regional concerted efforts to combat IUU fishing and other maritime crimes in the GoG. (5) Sustain and improve training on maritime security for the Blue Economy by tailoring training and exercises to reflect the fundamentals of the Blue Economy.
“(6) Sustain and improve on regional and international collaboration while also seeking international support.
d. The Nigerian Navy should organise the IMC/Fleet Review at her 70th Anniversary.” the statement stated.
