US government officials, seeking to bolster African maritime security, arrived in Benin in early November to convene a conference of ministers from 11 African countries to discuss ways to better control their territorial waters.
The conference in Benin aims to initiate conversation about drafting a maritime safety and security strategy that would be adopted by countries in the region around the Gulf of New Guinea, which include Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe and Togo.
African maritime security is emerging as an important focus for the U.S. government, which has named the Gulf of Guinea as a pilot site for its new global fleet stations initiative.
Source: JDW