Posted by: Homeport
In reply to: None Date:7/18/2006 3:54:05 AM
Post #of 65511
GoG News: NG Govt, U.S. Hold Security Talks On Gulf of Guinea
This Day (Lagos)
July 17, 2006
Posted to the web July 17, 2006
Lagos
Nigeria and U.S. security personnel at the weekend began discussions on security and safety issues in the Gulf of Guinea.
The meeting was held under the auspices of the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Security and Safety (PICO-MSS) and a U.S. technical committee on maritime security.
The U.S. had in recent times stepped up operations in the Gulf of Guinea to enhance security in the strategic and resource-rich region.
Speaking at the opening session of the meeting in Abuja, Nigeria's Minister of Transport, Mr. Abiye Sekibo, said the country was always willing to partner with other countries on the issue of security and peace in its maritime domain.
Sekibo said that co-operation with the U.S. was a welcome development, in view of the great potentials in the Gulf of Guinea.
He said that such co-operation would ensure that peace reigned in the area to enable people carry on with their legitimate duties.
He stated that the security needs of today were enormous and required such joint efforts.
The minister, therefore, enjoined the meeting to brainstorm and come up with "worthy recommendations" that could be jointly implemented by the Nigerian and U.S. governments.
Also speaking, PICOMSS Secretary, Major Lancelot Anyanya, said that the meeting was convened to exchange ideas and brainstorm on the important issues of safety and security in the nation's maritime domain, particularly the Gulf of Guinea.
In his response, the leader of the U.S. military team, Cdr. Nancy Norton, of the U.S. Naval Forces in Europe, U.S. Sixth Fleet, thanked Sekibo for the warm reception accorded them since their arrival in the country.
She explained that the goal of the cooperation between the two countries was to build long-term relationships that would promote greater security and stability in the region.
Norton said that the Gulf of Guinea was of great importance to Nigeria, in particular and to World maritime trade in general.
"We are looking at building the capacity and capability of the nations down there to secure the maritime domain to address security threats and other illegal activities," She said.
Maritime security is critical for the region to benefit from its natural resources and prosper economically, the U.S. military officer noted.
Africa provides almost 15 percent of the U.S. oil supply, much of which comes from the Gulf of Guinea.
In addition, the region is rich in timber, iron ore, copper and other mineral and aquatic resources.
"Our goal is to ensure a more stable maritime environment to ensure their ability to get those resources to market is unhindered. The focus is also on helping African nations increase their naval capabilities with help from the U.S.," she added.
A U.S. military source said the country's presence had increased its presence in the region from almost no activity in 2004 to 130 ship day in 2005 and planned more ship days this year.'
The region faces several potentially destabilising factors, which include narcotics trafficking from South America, smuggling of illegal aliens into Europe, about $1 billion a year in illegal fishing and pollution that threatens the coast and the local food supply, among others.
Toward that end, the submarine "USS Emory S. Land" recently wrapped up a three-month deployment to the region, where its crew conducted a series of security cooperation activities.
The deployment included port visits to Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Angola and the Republic of the Congo.
