Members of the IGAD Task Force on the Red Sea & Gulf of Aden meeting in Djibouti agree to convene the meeting of the task force in Mogadishu in March 2020 at the request of the head of Somalia delegation.Horndiplomat Reports
The following statement was issued today by IGAD.
The second meeting of the inter-governmental Authority on the development (IGAD)task force on the redsea and Gulf of Aden was held in Djiboutifrom 15-18 september, 2019.
The task force, composed of three nominees from each member state, was established pursuant to the decision of the 46 ordinary session of the IGAD Council of ministers held on February 27 , 2019.
The meeting was, among others, addressed by a representative of the government of Djibouti , IGAD Executive secretary and the IGAD special Envoy for the Redsea Gulf of The Aden and Somalia who is also the convernor of the task force.
The task force reiterated the need for greater cooperation in harnessing Opportunities and mitigating challenges in the redsea and the Gulf of Aden.
In Particular, they underscored the need for cooperation,inter-alia, in combating illegal unreported and unregulated fishing;pollution and dumping of toxic waste; violent extremism:piracy and irregular migration as well as ensuring the freedom of maritime navigation in the waters of the red sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The meeting also initiated discussion of the proposed IGAD Regional plan of action which upon finalization will be submitted to the IGAD policy organs for consideration.
Tge Proposed Plan of Actiion will establish a roadmap for promoting collective action towards securing the interests of the region in the twi maritime spaces.
Finally,the task force agreed to convene its third and fourth meetings in Khartoum, Sudan and Mogadishu , Somalia respectively on dates to be mutually agreed upon.
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