Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire begin negotiations on Maritime Boundary Demarcation

Accra, April 27, GNA - Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire on Tuesday began a two-day meeting on demarcation of the maritime border boundary between th= em to draw up a road map on the negotiating process.

The meeting attended by members of the Boundary Commission from both=

countries would deal with the delimitation of maritime spaces.

Addressing the opening session, Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister of La= nds and Natural Resources said it was important to determine the maritime boundaries to prevent disputes with neighbouring countries over natural resources and facilitate the exploration, exploitation and conservation o= f trans-boundary resources. He said it was a requirement for Ghana and her coastal neighbours to=

negotiate their maritime boundaries in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Maritime boundaries, Alhaji Dauda said established the limits within=

which neighbouring countries might operate, exercise their jurisdiction a= nd have the right of ownership.

"Boundaries create certainty and this certainty is vital to their national interests," Alhaji Dauda said.

He said Ghana and her neighbours had agreed that issues on adjacent or opposite boundaries should continue to be discussed in a spirit of cooperation to arrive at definite maritime boundaries delimitation after their respective submissions. Alhaji Dauda expressed the hope that both countries would endeavour to arrive at a maritime boundary based on the provisions of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Mr Desire Tagro, Ivorian Minister of the Interior, said the negotiations were not about the oil fields and warned the media to stop stirring unnecessary tension between the two countries. He said while demarcation of the maritime borders would naturally involve natural resources, the call for delimitation is not about the oil=

fields.

"Let me state here that although the demarcation concerns natural resources, the delimitation are not about the oil fields," he said. Mr Tagro expressed the hope that the two countries would work in the=

same spirit that they demonstrated in resolving the land boundaries issue= ..