The Director General of Nigerian Maritime Safety and Administration Agency, Dr Dakuku Peterside has to the world that maritime insecurity remains a great challenge facing trading at international level.
Peterside said this in his welcome address during the ongoing Global Maritime Safety Conference holding in Abuja. The conference has delegates from seventy-eight countries of the world.
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1. It is with a profound sense of gratitude that I welcome you all to this Global Maritime Security Conference organised by the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This Conference is unique and comes at a critical time in our collective quest for solutions to issues affecting our socio-economic development as nations.
2. Maritime insecurity remains one of the significant challenges affecting international trade and our quest for sustainable use of our ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and create jobs.
3. Many Conferences have been convened around the world seeking solutions to the scourge of maritime insecurity, of which the Gulf of Guinea has been one of the hotspots. Given these developments, and considering the importance of the Gulf of Guinea and its navigational routes to international commerce as well as the global energy balance; Nigeria has taken the initiative by convening this Global Conference to examine the maritime security challenges in the region. Nigeria is keen to drive this initiative because it is a significant destination in the international and domestic shipping map, accounting for over 65% of cargo generated from the Gulf of Guinea region and with rich endowments in oil and gas reserves.
4. We have delegates from over eighty (80) countries gathered here today and more than forty (40) global maritime experts who will be making presentations in the course of this three day Conference. The Conference have eleven (11) thematic sessions which have been carefully chosen to ensure holistic coverage of the multidimensional issues associated with maritime security in the 21st century.
5. In each thematic session, strategies for coordinating the implementation of the international, continental and regional frameworks on maritime security will be examined. At the end of the Conference, it is expected that we will have achieved the following objectives:
Defined the precise nature and scope of coordinated regional responses to maritime insecurity vis-à-vis intervention support from external actors and partners;
Evaluated the relevance and impacts of the various interventions initiated already to tackle maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea to revise and adapt them to address the current challenges;
Decisively move towards policy harmonisation and practical implementation through regional integration and cooperation as a principal method for delivering effective and efficient security in the region.
Proffered alternative approaches to prevent cybersecurity attacks and other forms of emerging maritime security threats; and
Advocated for a more profound global commitment to the deployment of resources for ending maritime insecurity within the region timeously.
6. Your Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I am optimistic that we will achieve these objectives. The success of this Conference will go on to provide the platform and catalyst for enhanced and robust regional and international collaborations to deter and repress these challenges in the region.
7. Having set the tone for the expected deliverables for the Conference; once again, I welcome you.
