By Edmund Mingle
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire yesterday
agreed on an action plan to effectively resolve the maritime boundary dispute
between the two countries.
After two days of meeting in Accra,
the members of the Boundary Commission of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire adopted
actions and timelines that would culminate in the resolution of the matter by
June 2014.
As part of the actions, a joint
technical committee of the Commissions would re-survey the common land
boundary, Boundary Pillar 55 (BP 55) to confirm the geographical co-ordinates.
The two sides also agreed to exchange
data on the base points from the breadth of the territorial waters in measured.
A communiqué issued at the end of the
meeting, which is the sixth bilateral maritime negotiation between Ghana and
Cote d’Ivoire, said the two countries “undertake to respect the schedule of
activities that will lead to the delimitation of the maritime boundary between
the two countries.”
The Ivorian team was led by the
Benard Ehui Koutuoa, Ivorian Ambassador to Ghana, while the Ghana side was led
by Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, who is also
the chairman of the Ghana Boundary Commission.
Cote d’Ivoire’s claim to portions of
the oil jubilee oil fields along the maritime boundary was intensified with a
recent announcement by Cote d’Ivoire that it has discovered oil in the same
area where Ghana also prospecting for oil.
In spite of fears that it could
create some form of conflict between the two West African neighbours, the meeting
was optimistic that the challenges would be resettled amicably.
Alhaji Fuseini, answering questions
after the meeting issued the communiqué, explained that the joint commission
was conducting a general boundary demarcation exercise and not focusing on the
oil prospecting site which has generated the problem.
He said the technical committee would
visit the BP 55 from November 26 to 28, after which the next two meetings of
the joint commission would be held in Abidjan.
According to him, the joint commission
was applying international legal procedures and United Nations conventions on
maritime boundaries to resolve the matter.
Asked whether the prospecting of oil
in the disputed zone would cease until the determination of the matter, the
Minister said “the two countries have agreed to engage in a way that will not
exacerbate the challenge that is confronting us.”
For his part, Ambassador Koutuoa,
expressed appreciation to the government of Ghana for the committed it has
exhibited towards settling the matter.
He said the government of Cote
d’Ivoire shared the view of the government of Ghana that the resources should
not create division but should be managed in a way that would promote regional
integration.
“We are also fully committed to the
peaceful resolution of the matter and we appreciate the atmosphere of
friendliness in which we have held the discussions,” he said.
END
No comments:
Post a Comment