Nigeria, 11 Others Get 30 Boats, Forensic Equipment From EU `
Nigeria and 11 other West African countries are to benefit from 30 rigid-hull inflatable boats and forensic equipment valued at N2.3billion from the European Union.
The items are for fighting maritime crime and other security challenges in the region.
The boats and equipment when supplied in 2014 will significantly enhance the capacity of beneficiary countries to enforce the rule of law in their territorial waters and adjoining exclusive economic zones.
This was revealed at a maritime security seminar convened by ECOWAS in Abuja on Monday, under the framework of the European Union-funded Support to West Africa Integrated Maritime Security (SWAIMS) project.
The EU Senior Coordinator for the Gulf of Guinea, Nicolas Martinez, explained that the EU was a committed partner to the Gulf of Guinea region and would continue to provide extensive and targeted assistance to strengthen the critical features of the Yaoundé security architecture, while cementing the long-standing relationship between ECOWAS and the EU.
The SWAIMS Team Leader, SWIMSKlein, explained that the boats and forensic equipment would be supplied by Portu l’s Camoes, working closely with the Portuguese Navy, which would also provide related training and maintenance.
In financial terms, the delivery of RHIBs and forensic equipment worth more than €5 million is the most significant component of the SWAIMS project.
BesiSWIMSmoes, other SWAIMS implementing paSWAIM are Institut de sécurité maritime interregional in Côte d’Ivoire, Regional Maritime University in Ghana, ECOWAS’ Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Also, Head of ECOWAS’ Regionthe al Security Division, Col. Abdourahmane Dieng, explained that maritime insecurity had long been one of the most persistent and intractable threats to maritime communities and economic prosperity in the region.
According to him, turning the tide against maritime insecurity was a collaborative effort that no single country or region could tackle alone.
He explained: “For this reason, ECOWAS, in conjunction with the Economic Community of Central African States formulated the Yaoundé Code of Conduct as a foundation for broad-based regional maritime security along the entire Gulf of Guinea.
“Cognisant of this problem and its ramifications well beyond West Africa, ECOWAS launched its Integrated Maritime Strategy in 2014 with parameters for the development of the blue economy premised upon a coherent security framework.”
The beneficiaries are Nigeria, Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
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