A four-day meeting concluded today (28 August) in Accra, Ghana, where IMO, as part of its West and Central Africa Maritime Security project, has been assisting Ghana to develop a framework for its national maritime security strategy. IMO also took the opportunity to help improve collaboration among departments and agencies with an interest in maritime security to encourage a broader implementation of IMO instruments as well as to build more robust maritime security measures in the region. The Ghana Maritime Authority and the Ghana National Maritime Security Committee (NMSC) also took part in the meeting.
The objectives of this meeting are based on a UN Security Council Resolution (2012) which urges States of the Gulf of Guinea region to take prompt action at national and regional levels, with the support of the international community, to implement national maritime security strategies, including development of legal frameworks for the prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea.