Ghana, Ivory Coast Leaders to Discuss Maritime Dispute

The presidents of Ghana and Ivory Coast agreed on Monday to negotiate an amicable end to issues around their maritime dispute, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, who will chair the negotiations, said on Monday.

 

"We have a deal," Annan told Reuters. A source close to the talks later made clear Annan was referring to the fact that he had been able to get the two presidents - Ivory Coast's Alassane Ouattara and Ghana's John Dramani Mahama - to talk.

 

"This is just a start of the process. They are asking Mr. Annan to help them find an amicable solution," the source said.

 

The two presidents will not be discussing the delimitation of the border, the source said, since that is under the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg.

 

The tribunal issued an interim ruling last month that Ghana could continue developing a $4.9 billion offshore oil project in the area, but imposed a ban on new drilling.

 

The decision was regarded as positive for Ghana and British oil firm Tullow, which leads a consortium developing the TEN field, where it has already drilled the wells it needs to start production.

 

The tribunal did not judge the merits of the dispute, on which a final ruling is not expected until 2017.

 

Analysts have said that precedent suggests it is unlikely to redraw the current equidistant maritime boundary.