Regional naval cooperation in focus at forum on Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea Maritime Collaboration Forum and Shared Awareness and Deconfliction Conference (GOG-MCF/SHADE) has identified cooperation between regional and international navies as the focus of its inaugural plenary meeting scheduled to take place next month.

This was disclosed in a joint communiqué signed by the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Inter-Regional Coordination Centre (ICC) Yaoundé, dated June 11, 2021.

The online meeting will be hosted by the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Institute (GOGMI) in Accra, Ghana, and will be by invitation of the SHADE Co-chairs, the ICC and the Nigerian Navy.”

There will be two sessions at the meeting: the morning session, which would formally open the historic plenary and include welcome addresses by regional and international dignitaries; and the second session in which the plenary co-chairs would set the vision and plan for what GOG-MCF/SHADE will seek to accomplish.

The ICC Yaoundé and Nigeria noted that the meeting is to produce meaningful actions and measures that translate to a significant increase in the cooperation at sea between regional and international navies, the international shipping industry, and the maritime stakeholders in the Gulf of Guinea.”

These actions would be delivered by three working groups: Cooperation at Sea (Operations), Reporting and Information Sharing, and Air Deconfliction, with each working group chaired by a regional representative and supported by a Subject Matter Expert.