Kofi Ampeah Woode
Ghana Navy has held a media briefing to herald its 3rd International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (IMDEC), set to take place from Tuesday to Wednesday, 29-30 August 2023 at the Burma Hall and its newly purpose-built exhibition centre, for the largest gathering of Africa’s maritime industry.
The press engagement occurred on Wednesday 23 August 2023, at the Naval Headquarters, of the Ghana Armed Forces General Headquarters, Burma Camp, Accra, with the participation of the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) – Rear Admiral Issah Adam Yakubu, his Chief Staff Officer (CSO) – Commodore (Cdre) Prosper Modey, and other Staff Officers of the Navy.
The theme for the IMDEC ’23 conference is “consolidating the gains made in the GoG: the role of stakeholders and technology in sustaining a safe and secure maritime domain”.
Making a case for the conference and exhibition, the CNS cited how Ghana’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the embattled Gulf of Guinea (GoG) had been, to the extent that in 2020, Ghana had not less than 6 attacks, particularly on tuna vessels, with not less than 11 sailors kidnapped and taken to unknown locations, until ransoms were paid for their releases.
However, Admiral Yakubu said, due to the implementation of strategies developed from IMDEC, and the collaboration with countries in the GoG, Ghana has not witnessed armed robberies at sea, and kidnapping of sailors in 2021/22, but for 2023, which has seen some resurgence, albeit not in Ghana, but in neighbouring countries.
On the successes of IMDEC 2, Cdre Modey cited the ideation of a Safe Maritime Corridor, and a Combined Maritime Task Force which were mooted, and will be further discussed at IMDEC 3 by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries, who have been working on the document for fine-tuning, for the acceptability of all stakeholders.
He said there is a committee working on the concept of a safe maritime corridor, so that when commercial vessels set out on a maritime journey, they would travel along designated safe corridors provided and guarded by naval forces in the GoG, hence not requiring escorts or guards, to sail safely to their destinations.
In a presentation by Naval Captain (Capt GN) Kwasi Kyerematen Donkor, IMDEC ’23 will bring together more than 12 Chiefs of Navy and over 35 speakers, to address critical issues surrounding maritime security on the African continent, and aims to foster dialogue and collaboration among key stakeholders, to sustain a safe and secure maritime domain, focusing on consolidating the gains made in the GoG.
IMDEC ’23, which is organized by Great Minds Events, and sponsored by Israel Shipyards Ltd, Aselsan, Ocea, Leonardo and Grup Aresa Internacional, will provide insights and case studies on the successful application of a variety of innovations, relevant to maritime needs in the region.
The events will host a number of attendees from about 30 countries, with a conference agenda that includes panel discussions, breakout sessions, and extensive site visits, making it the premier strategic gathering for Africa’s Navies, Coast Guards, Port and Coastal Authorities, Marine Police, Fisheries, related Ministries, Oil & Gas, and other maritime industries.
Additionally, 18 foreign and 2 local exhibitors will be exhibiting diverse wares in communication technologies, radars, satellite imagery solutions and vessels among other key solutions vital for further strengthening maritime defence capabilities of African navies, with a group demonstration on the 30th of August, whiles presentations, bilateral talks and other sessions are held.
Ghana’s President – His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will deliver the keynote address at the opening ceremony, and will also launch Ghana’s National Integrated Maritime Strategy (NIMS), to provide the mechanism for coordination and a good governance structure for Ghana’s Blue Economy.
The NIMS envisages Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product to double by 2030, with the coming into force of the document, which draws inspiration from the Yaounde Architecture, the African Integrated Maritime Strategy (AIMS), and the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy (EIMS).
The NIMS document started with a joint collaboration with the United States of America (USA) in February 2016, when the USA and Ghana signed a seven-year reform maritime collaboration. The duo have now been joined in by Denmark, Finland, Germany, France and other countries, for the same purpose.
All institutions in the maritime industry in Ghana have their own working documents, however the NIMS seeks to unify and consolidate all the various documents, point to the sea as an alternative wealth creation resource to land resource with a clear understanding of the untapped resources in the sea, and make Ghana’s maritime space, the safest, by 2030.
Government ministries that came together for the production of the NIMS are the Transport, Defence, Interior, National Security, Fisheries, Justice Department, Ghana Maritime Authority, SDI, Ghana Navy, Fisheries Commission, amongst others.
