Akufo-Addo, Ouattara to sign agreement on ITLOS judgement

Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire will on Tuesday sign an agreement in Accra to guide the two countries in the implementation of the landmark judgement in the maritime dispute between them.

A joint Commission will also be inaugurated to spearhead the implementation of judgement passed by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on the delimitation of the maritime boundaries of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

President of Cote d’Ivoire, Alassane Dramane Ouattara will arrive in Ghana on Monday for a two-day state visit during which he will sign the agreement with President Nana Akufo-Addo.

A protracted maritime dispute between the two countries was settled on September 23, 2017 when ITLOS ruled that Ghana has not violated the sovereign rights of Cote d’Ivoire with its oil exploration in the Western Region.

Both Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have since welcomed the ruling and assured of their readiness to implement the decision of ITLOS. “Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana seize the opportunity to reiterate the mutual commitment of the two countries to abide by the terms of this decision from the Special Chamber, and to fully collaborate for its implementation.

Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana accept the decision, in accordance with the Statute of ITLOS,” agents of the two countries said in a joint statement after the judgement.

Ouattara’s visit A statement from the Ghana’s presidency Sunday explained that the President Ouattara’s visit to Accra “deepen further the already strong relations” between the two countries.

It will also present opportunity for them to explore other areas of cooperation.

“This visit is a reciprocal one to the visit made to Cote d’Ivoire by the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in May this year, at the start of his tour of the countries of West Africa,” the statement explained.

On arrival, he would meet President Akufo-Addo for bilateral discussions at the Flagstaff House, after which the two leaders will address a joint press conference.

President Akufo-Addo will later Monday evening, host his Ivorian counterpart to an official dinner. On May 5 this year President Akufo-Addo paid a 3-day visit to Cote d’Ivoire, at the commencement of his tour of the countries of West Africa.

During that visit, President Akufo-Addo revealed that the close co-operation between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire will be facilitated by a new initiative dubbed “An Agreement For a Strategic Partnership”, that will be signed by the two countries.

This agreement, according to President Akufo-Addo, will bind Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire “in even closer intimacy and go beyond the bounds of the concept of the Permanent Joint Commission, which is the conventional tool for co-operation.”

President Akufo-Addo noted one of the areas of focus of this Agreement would be in the cocoa industry.

President Akufo-Addo was also decorated with the Highest National Award of Cote d’Ivoire, La Grande Croix dans l’ordre National Ivorien, at a State Dinner held in his honour by the President Alassane Ouattara.