ECOWAS Agrees To Fight Piracy Threat To Trade

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has agreed to launch a regional effort to fight piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. The news comes as naval and defence leaders from the region and the US met in Accra, Ghana, for a maritime conference earlier this week. 

According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) the area is the most dangerous sea for piracy in the world. In the first half of 2019 73 per cent of sea kidnappings and 92 per cent of hostage takings occurring in the Gulf.

Under the agreement member countries will jointly deploy facilities vessels and aircraft to monitor the region. Naval chiefs have called for additional funding for their activities. Meanwhile, Ghanaian defence minister Dominic Nitiwul warned of the negative impact of the problem of efforts to expand regional trade during the conference.

“The sea is the super highway for global trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement cannot be successful without a secured maritime domain,” Nitiwul cautioned.

Earlier this month ten Turkish sailors were kidnapped off the coast of Nigeria, taken from a ship sailing from Cameroon to Ivory Coast.