The GoGIN Project Advisory Committee (GPAC) met in Dakar on 9-10 April 2019. More than 70 participants representing the maritime centres of the 19 coastal countries of ECOWAS, ECCAS and CGG, shared progress and discussed priorities for the next two years of the GoGIN project. The GoGIN team of experts presented its assessment and the elements of the action plan in terms of information system, training, exercises, legal and organizational assessment. The exchanges and remarks highlighted the real awareness of the authorities of the Gulf of Guinea vis-à-vis a coordination of the action of the State at sea. The participants evaluated what was working and what should to be improved and / or prioritized, while insisting on a stronger synergy between external initiatives, whether at the level of their countries or the European Union.
The European Union, one of the main external stakeholders, supports the operationalization of these centres through various instruments such as the GoGIN project and soon the SWAIMS and PASSMAR projects. It also cooperates with other actors such as UNODC, Interpol, IMO, the French and Spanish Embassies and the French Navy, all present on this advisory committee.
Senegal, the host country of this meeting, presented the organization of the action of the State at sea, coordinated by the Navy, and associating mainly the High Authority in charge of the Coordination of Maritime Safety, Maritime Security and the Protection of the Marine Environment (HASSMAR), the Directorate of Fisheries, the Customs Service and the Police. Participants were invited to visit the Operations Coordination Centre, which monitors 24 hours a day off-shore activities, as well as the Naval Training Simulation Centre with a high-performance simulator.
Find press releases from the workshop and speakers’ presentations.