Your Excellency, Mr Georges Rebelo Pinto Chicoti, Minister of External Relations of Angola;
Your Excellency Mr Pedro Mutinde, Minister of Tourism and Hotel Industry;
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors of Member States of the GGC;
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors, Friends and Partners of the Gulf of Guinea Commission;
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen;
Ladies and Gentlemen of the press.
Good morning.
It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this event marking the 14th year Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty Establishing the Gulf of Guinea Commission.
I also wish to thank the Honourable Minister of Tourism and Hotel Industry, H.E. Mr Pedro Mutinde, who has graciously made available this beautiful hall for our use.
The Treaty Establishing the GGC was signed 14 years ago, on 3 July 2001 and the Executive Secretariat was established in Luanda in March 2006. The Secretariat has tried to create a greater awareness amongst our Members on the need to secure the maritime space of the coastal countries of the Gulf of Guinea region to stem the increasing wave of illegal activities at sea, which occurrence has multiplied to the extent of threatening economic development in the region.
This increased awareness on the part of countries of the region has encouraged our governments to take measure that will secure the maritime domain. Of course, we cannot say that we have completely succeeded but we can confidently affirm that we are on the right path. With our concerted and collaborative efforts and assistance from our partners, the issue of lack of security on our waters either for the ships going through it or the workers working on the different platforms will be reduced considerably, if not out rightly eliminated.
Many people in the region do not know much about the GGC, its objectives, its successes, its difficulties. Hence, our determination to make it better known by whoever is interested in knowing about it.
Today, we are launching our website. This can be accessed at www.cggrps.org. We intend to update the information contained therein as the need arises.
We are equally launching our 1st magazine: the Gulf of Guinea on 25 August 2015, the day the first Summit of the Gulf of Guinea Commission was held in Libreville, Gabon. This will be sent out to all those present here today.
With these few remarks, it is indeed a privilege and honour for me to unveil the website of the GGC.
But before that, I would like to read to you, the message that the current Chairman of our Organization, the President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, His Excellency Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, wrote for the anniversary. The Honourable Minister Chairman of the Council of Ministers should have been here to present this message to you, but unfortunately, by reasons out of his control, he could not make it.
