Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire to delimit maritime border

President Nana Akufo-Addo and his Ivorian counterpart Alassane Ouattara have established a joint committee to delimit their maritime border along the Atlantic Ocean, following the judgment of the Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

The decision to set up a joint team to delimit their common border along the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean was one of the several decisions taken by the two leaders during the visit of the Ivorian leader to Accra.

Also, the two leaders have established a Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) to further deepen cooperation in Defence and Security, cocoa and Cashew and other strategic crops, Maritime Cooperation, Mining, Energy and Environment, Transport and Economic Policies.

One of the key components of the SPA is that Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire resolved to work together to consolidate their positions as leading producers of cocoa ponds in the continent.

The communiqué issued after the visit by the Ghanaian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and regional Integration stated, “Both presidents agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation for the development of a winwin strategy for a sustainable cocoa industry, in this regard, the two leaders expressed commitment to ongoing discussions between the Ghana Cocoa Board and Le Conseil Café-Cacao to develop joint marketing strategies in the international trading platforms.”

The two leaders further agreed to cooperate in the bid to eradicating the smuggling of cocoa beans along their mutual borders.