The EU Delegation to Guinea-Bissau hosts a national restricted forum on the “Challenges and Opportunities for Cooperation in the Maritime Field”
On 9 of September, the EU Delegation to Guinea-Bissau hosted a closed door forum on the “Challenges and Opportunities for Cooperation in the Maritime Field”. The event follows a previous visit of the team of Enhanced Maritime Action in the Gulf of Guinea (EnMAR) to Bissau. The closed-door forum was attended by Bissau-Guinean top military officials (notably the Head of Cabinet of the Armed forces Chief of General Staff and his Maritime Adviser, as well by the Special Advisor the Chief of Staff of the Navy) and high ranking Government officials (most notably Prime-Minister advisors on Defence and Maritime Affairs, the Head of Cabinet of the Minister of Economy and senior advisors to the Ministers of Transportation, Fisheries, Environment and Defence). Team Europe representatives also marked their presence.
The event benefited from the momentum created on the subject by the simultaneous port call (6-9 September) of the Portuguese patroller NRP Viana do Castelo, in the context of the Coordinated Maritime Presences. Therefore, it benefitted from a keynote speech by guest of honour Portuguese Vice-Admiral Dores Aresta (International Maritime Security Advisor to the Portuguese Chief of Staff of the Navy) following opening remarks by H.E. Ambassador Artis Bertulis.
During the event, aimed at a limited number of participants, the action of the EU and its Member States in the field of maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea was presented, with emphasis on the implementation and relevance of the Yaoundé Architecture and the European Union's Coordinated Maritime Presences.
Opportunities to strengthen co-operation in the maritime field between Guinea-Bissau and the EU were presented by EnMAR’s experts who joined the event online. National counterparts vividly outlined their needs and signalled how the EU could support them. It resulted from the event that the EU could aim at providing assistance in formulating Guinea-Bissau’s maritime strategy through EnMAR and training of Bissau-Guinean officials.
The EU Delegation kick-started the initial dialogue on opportunities for co-operation in the Maritime field at the beginning of 2023, with technical and financial support of EnMAR, hosting the country’s first Conference on Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea with the National Defense Institute. During the event experts – senior military staff, law enforcement officials, Government and private sector – discussed a wide range of subjects including the Yaoundé architecture, IUU fisheries, trafficking of drugs, arms and human beings and also environmental concerns.
After some political turmoil and governmental shifts in the country, the EU swiftly took advantage of the port call of Portuguese vessel NRP Viana do Castelo to reinitiate the process, aiming at first providing national counterparts an open and safe space for discussions. Maritime affairs and blue economy rank among the top priorities in the EU-Guinea-Bissau relations and therefore these matters deserve a particular interest from Bissau-Guinean authorities.