The United States and Gabon hosted the 2020 G7++ Friends of the Gulf of Guinea (FoGG) Virtual Plenary from December 1 to 3, offering participants an opportunity to discuss key initiatives to encourage maritime security in the coastal waters of West and Central Africa.
The first day of the plenary featured remarks from U.S. and Gabonese officials, including Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Tibor P. Nagy, Gabonese Foreign Minister Pacôme Moubelet Boubeya, and Gabonese National Defense Minister Michael Moussa-Adamo, as well as representatives of the Economic Community of West African States, the Economic Community of Central African States, the Interregional Coordination Center, and the International Maritime Organization. They addressed the centrality of maritime security to the sovereignty, peace, and economic growth of the coastal states in the Gulf of Guinea.
The remaining two days of the FoGG Virtual Plenary focused on specific policy issues including piracy, armed robbery, and kidnappings at sea, along with illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and illicit trade, all of which hamper security and prosperity in the region.
A link to Assistant Secretary Nagy’s opening remarks as prepared is available at: https://2017-2021.state.gov/assistant-secretary-of-state-for-african-affairs-tibor-nagys-opening-remarks-g7-friends-of-the-gulf-of-guinea/.
More information on the United States and Gabon’s co-secretariat of the Friends of the Gulf of Guinea is available at: https://2017-2021.state.gov/the-united-states-and-gabon-assume-the-co-secretariat-of-the-friends-of-gulf-of-guinea/.