States work towards regional maritime security strategy for the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden

Signatory States of the Djibouti Code of Conduct/Jeddah Amendment (DCOC/JA) are working to develop a framework for regional coordination to tackle shared maritime threats. 

The DCoC-JA is a regional initiative to combat piracy, armed robbery against ships and other illicit maritime activities in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.  

A two-week workshop (10 to 21 November), hosted at the Jeddah Academy for Maritime Science and Security Studies in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, brought together representatives of governments, regional maritime centres and partner organizations. 

Participants worked on developing a unified strategy to address complex maritime threats in the region, recognizing the need to harmonize coordination among regional mechanisms addressing the wide range of maritime security challenges and threats affecting the region. This included work to create national and regional maritime security risk registers as a basis for a coordinated response.  

Delegates discussed ways to enhance cooperation, communication and coordination among maritime security entities, both nationally and across the region. They developed terms of reference for new DCoC sub-working groups, focused on the following specific thematic areas: Port and Ship Security; Protection of Vital Coastal Installations; Illegal Unreported & Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, and Maritime Environmental Protection. 

The outcomes of the workshop will be considered by the upcoming High-Level Meeting on the Implementation of the DCoC/JA, to be held in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania (28 – 30 November 2024). It is anticipated that a final regional maritime security strategy will be presented for adoption at the 2025 High-level Meeting.  

Workshop participants included representatives from: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Maldives, Oman, Seychelles, Somalia, the United Republic of Tanzania; as well as from the Regional Centre for Operational Co-ordination (RCOC - Seychelles), Regional Maritime Information Fusion Center (RMIFC-Madagascar), the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), the Indian Navy, the United Kingdom, INTERPORTPOLICE and the International Maritime Organization. 

This initiative was supported by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. For more information, visit: DCoC – Djibouti Code of Conduct