IMO has taken part in the annual plenary meeting of G7 Group
of Friends of the Gulf of Guinea (G7++ FoGG) which focuses on dealing with
illegal activities at sea in the Gulf of Guinea.
The online event included discussions on how
the Yaoundé Code of Conduct will function going forward. The Code's primary
objective is to manage and considerably reduce the adverse impacts from piracy,
armed robbery against ships and other illicit maritime activities. It was
adopted in 2013.
In his opening remarks, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim
highlighted the urgency of the security situation in the Gulf of Guinea and the
need for cooperation. He also reiterated that "IMO, in collaboration with
the G7++ Friends of the Gulf of Guinea, will continue to support training and
other capacity-building activities for individual Gulf of Guinea states as well
as cooperative regional efforts".
Speaking at the event, IMO's Acting Head of the Maritime
Security Section, Gisela Vieira, emphasised that IMO is continuing to work with
Member States via virtual platforms, despite much of the in-the-field work
being on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, IMO's Gulf of Guinea
expert has conducted several virtual meetings with the Inter-regional
coordination center (ICC) to discuss implementation, sustainability and to
assess a possible need for revision of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct framework.
The FOGG was hosted under the Co-Chairship of the United
States and GABON, with more than 80 participants from G7++ FoGG countries
including West and Central Africa, international organizations and industry
taking part. The co-chairs in 2021 will be the United Kingdom and Senegal.