Accra, Apr 26 (Agency)Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo urged here on Tuesday greater regional cooperation to defeat threats in the maritime space of the Gulf of Guinea. Akufo-Addo made this call while opening the Third Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC). The Ghanaian president, who convened the session as chairman of the assembly, stressed that strong collaboration and cooperation among the member states were critical due to the interconnectedness of their maritime activities.
He lamented that the region had become a global hotspot for incidents of piracy, oil bunkering, robbery at sea, hostage-taking, human and drug trafficking, terrorism and corruption, illegal unregulated and unreported fishing, arms trafficking, pollution of the environment, and smuggling. The president said the enormous and complex nature of these illegal activities at sea demanded a well-coordinated collaboration to combat them successfully and create a safe, secure, and prosperous Gulf of Guinea region for sustainable development. The GGC comprises Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and Ghana.