The ECOWAS, ECCAS and Gulf of Guinea Commissions (GGC) and the International Coordination Centre (ICC), in collaboration with Expertise France and the GGIN II project, financed by the European Union, met from 18 to 20 February in Abidjan in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire for the second technical meeting on the transfer of the Yaoundé Regional Architecture Information System (YARIS) to the ‘Yaoundé Architecture’ maritime information management system.
The main purpose of this meeting is to review and validate the roadmap and actions to be taken for the transfer of YARIS to the YAOUNDE architecture and for its sustainable funding after the end of the GoGIN II project.
The meeting was attended by maritime experts from the countries of the Gulf of Guinea, representatives of regional and international institutions, representatives of the Multinational Maritime Coordination Centres (MMCCs), the Regional Maritime Safety Centre for West Africa (CRESMAO), the Regional Maritime Safety Centre for Central Africa (CRESMAC) and development partners, including the European Union and implementation partner Expertise France.
The Expertise France team, represented by Mr Sam Megwa, EU GoGIN II Strategic Director, and Ms Giudicelli Anne, Head of the Global Threats, Peace, Stability and Security Division, indicated the need to find a way of maintaining the YARIS system even beyond the GOGIN II project, with a view to a successful transfer.
The Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Côte d'Ivoire, Ms Martina Borovac Pe-Carevic, representing Ms Francesca Di Mauro, EU Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire, expressed the European Union's willingness to continue working with its partners to support solutions that will enable regional ownership of maritime safety solutions such as YARIS, which links more than 160 maritime centres in 19 countries.
Speaking on behalf of Côte d'Ivoire's Minister of State, Minister of Defence, Mr Abroulaye Fofana, Permanent Secretary of the Interministerial Committee for State Action at Sea in Côte d’Ivoire recalled the strategic nature of this transfer of YARIS, which constitutes ‘a crucial step in the empowerment of States and the improvement of maritime safety in the Gulf of Guinea’.
The Head of the Regional Security Division of the ECOWAS Commission, Dieng Abdourahmane, PhD, representing Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah (PhD), Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, ECOWAS Commission, thanked the European Union and Expertise France for their support in the framework of the GOGIN II project and the YARIS platform. He also stressed the importance of ensuring the sustainability of this platform and its successful transfer to the beneficiary maritime centres.
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