West African countries, alongside international partners, participated in Exercise Grand African Nemo to enhance cooperation against maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea.
Regional naval forces focused on addressing several threats across 5,700 kilometers (3,540 miles) of maritime territory, from Senegal to Angola.
The drills involved naval forces and equipment from 28 nations, including all countries in the Gulf of Guinea, deploying 55 naval units, 12 aircraft, and numerous specialized maritime personnel.
Military staff engaged in simulated scenarios designed to improve responses to piracy, smuggling, and illegal fishing.
Ghana’s Chief of the Naval Staff, Issah Adam Yakubu, said that the drills enhance “effective information-sharing, interoperability, trust building and ensuring safety and security in the [Gulf of Guinea] and Zone F maritime space in particular,” referring to the waters between Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, and Ghana.
Interregional Maritime Security
The initiative is part of a broader strategy to safeguard the Gulf of Guinea: the interregional maritime security mechanism known as the Yaoundé Architecture.
In 2013, leaders from the Economic Community of West and Central African States and the Gulf of Guinea Commission met in Cameroon to develop a joint regional strategy against illicit activities on the West African side of the Atlantic Ocean.
The plan divides the maritime area into five operational zones, coordinated under five Maritime Multinational Coordination Centres.