ECCAS, ECOWAS Foreign Ministers and Gulf of Guinea Commission met in Yaounde on Saturday.

It took over five hours of intense brainstorming to come up with a reference document on maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea for discussion by Heads of State and Governments of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Yaounde from today June 24 to 25, 2013.

The event is the first-ever ECCAS, ECOWAS and Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) summit. Foreign Ministers of the two regions met at the Ministry of External Relations in Yaounde on Saturday June, 22, 2013 under the Chair of Cameroon’s Minister of External Relations, Prof. Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo.

In his preliminary statement to the press ahead of the in-camera session, Prof. Moukoko Mbonjo said they were going to discuss what was agreed on March 19, 2013 in Cotonou, Benin in preparation for the current summit. “We just have to go through the documents again before submitting them for approval by Heads of State,” he assured. He hinted that work on the documents was smooth and void of any stumbling blocks. On the content of the documents, the Minister said it was not time for details, promising that once adopted, they will be made known.

He explained that ECOWAS organised the March 19, 2013 Ministers’ Conference in Cotonou where each delegation was represented by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Interior.  ECCAS on its part is organising the Yaounde summit of Heads of State and Governments.