BENIN: MARITIME SAFETY AND SECURITY MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE A SUCCESS

UNCLAS COTONOU 001149 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/W (DBANKS) PARIS FOR D'ELIA ACCRA FOR DAO SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EWWY MASS ETRD ECON MARR KMCA PGOV PREL BN SUBJECT: BENIN: MARITIME SAFETY AND SECURITY MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE A SUCCESS ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The Government of Benin hosted a ministerial conference on "Maritime Safety and Security in the Gulf of Guinea" in Cotonou on November 13-15. The conference, sponsored by NAVEUR, and organized by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), involved ministerial delegations from 11 participating countries from Ghana to Angola, including host nation Benin, as well as observers from Senegal, South Africa, and the United States. Participating ministers committed to implement a number of specific measures to improve maritime domain awareness and security. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) A/S Frazer delivered the keynote address during the ministerial portion of the conference on November 15, which was also attended by NAVEUR Commander Admiral Ulrich, Deputy EUCOM Commander General Ward and DASD Whelan. The conference also featured observer participation by over 20 US military officers from all service branches, the US Coast Guard, and USAID. Beninese MFA official Eusebe Agbangla, the GoB's conference organizing committee chairman, told PolOff Nov. 15 that he was "very satisfied" with the outcomes of the conference and the event itself. ¶3. (U) Expert meetings, held on November 13 and 14, dealt with the plethora of challenges facing Gulf of GUINEA countries in maritime safety and security including piracy, trafficking in persons, smuggling of illicit goods including narcotics, protection of fishing stocks, and others. In a communique and accompanying action plan released at the end of the conference, the participating countries resolved to improve maritime domain awareness, strengthen regulatory frameworks for maritime safety and security, designate national maritime authorities in each country to enhance regional cooperation, raise public awareness, engage partners and stakeholders, and strengthen political will. ¶4. (U) Delegates and observers to the conference commented favorably on the quality of the conference. Specifically, they cited the excellent organization and format as well as the academic give-and-take discussion of issues. ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: The Beninese greatly valued this opportunity to play host to its neighbors and demonstrate its ability to work closely with high-level US officials. It also caught the attention of other donors such as Germany and Egypt, whose local embassies have both inquired how they might become more involved in the project. In Benin, as in other countries in the Gulf of Guinea, the conference helped highlight the importance of maritime security. The Beninese and other African participants still hope, however, that this attention to maritime issues will be accompanied by external resources to improve maritime awareness. We will continue to reinforce the message of USG speakers and participants in the conference to emphasize that several of the initial steps that can be taken are low-cost and require just political will more than financial resources. END COMMENT. BROWN