Obiang Calls For Stronger Gulf Of Guinea Commission As Key To Overcome Maritime Safety Issues

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Aug 13, 2013, 08:51 ET

Equatorial Guinea Hosts Third Summit of Heads of State of the Gulf of Guinea Commission

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, Aug. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Equatorial Guinea's President, Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, called on the Gulf of Guinea heads of state to maintain stronger vigilance and create a maritime security body in order to overcome security and stability issues affecting the zone. President Obiang, who was also named President of the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC), also expressed his desire to integrate more states bordering the gulf as members of the organization.

The GGC was founded in 1999 with member states Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Cameroon, DR Congo, Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe and Gabon.

During his speech, President Obiang called for closer relations with international organizations such as the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to face the challenges affecting the GGC.

"Having a strong and effective Gulf of Guinea Commission is the only alternative for our region to overcome the problems it currently faces, to ensure the welfare of their people, peace and security in the maritime and land zones of the Gulf of Guinea," he said.

The third meeting of the GGC heads of State and Government analyzed the report on the activities of Miguel Trovoada, Executive Secretary of the GGC, particularly the implementation of the Interregional Center for the Coordination of Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea. In the conclusions, he recognized that, although the results were not up to expectations, the visibility achieved by the GGC is a step forward in promoting and defending the interests of the States and the people of the Gulf of Guinea.

President Obiang concluded his speech by highlighting the urgency "to revise the structure of the GGC Executive Secretariat, its statutory texts and functional organization, in order to improve and ensure the responsibilities of the commission, in view of the new challenges."

In the final communique Nigeria was appointed as Executive Secretary, Angola the Deputy Executive Secretary for Political Affairs, Cameroon as Executive Secretary for Natural Resources, Gabon as the Financial Director, and Equatorial Guinea as Administrative Director.

Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, Ali Bongo Ondimba of the Republic of Gabon, Manuel Pinto da Costa of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cameroon, Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo, on behalf of the President Paul Biya, the Extraordinary Ambassador and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luambo Francois, on behalf of President Joseph Kabila Kaban and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Nurudeen Muhammad, on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan attended the 3^rd GGC Summit held in the Sipopo Conference Center in the capital city of Malabo.

About Equatorial Guinea

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea (Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial) is the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa, and one of the smallest nations on the continent. In the late-1990s, American companies helped discover the country's oil and natural gas resources, which only within the last five years began contributing to the global energy supply. Equatorial Guinea is now working to serve as a pillar of stability and security in its region of West Central Africa. The country hosted the 2011 Summit of the African Union. For more information, visit http://www.guineaecuatorialpress.com.

SOURCE Republic of Equatorial Guinea