The organizers of the Ghana Maritime & Shipping Awards, Ninetyeightz Events, have congratulated the government of Ghana for winning the three-year-long maritime dispute between the country and Côte d’Ivoire.
In a statement issued in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ninetyeightz Media, Bergis Kojo Frimpong said “Although the ruling favoured Ghana, we believe the victory is for both countries and West Africa as general”.
He commended Ghana and Cote d’lvoire for the peaceful and cooperative process they committed themselves to in settling the dispute.
He said his outfit is very happy that the two countries have been able to diffuse such a complicated security and economic threat with calm and maturity, and through cooperation and legal means, without animosity.
He therefore, congratulated Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire for a shared victory, and commended them for showcasing the true meaning of diplomacy and good neighbourliness.
While it congratulated judges of the Special Chamber and the legal and technical teams of both countries for bringing an end to the matter, the CEO of Nightyeightz Media also paid glowing tributes to the government of Ghana for the various roles it played towards the victory.
Last Saturday September 23, the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), in a unanimous decision ruled that there has not been any violation on the part of Ghana on Côte d’Ivoire’s maritime boundary.
The Special Chamber in its ruling also rejected Côte d’Ivoire’s argument that Ghana’s coastal lines were unstable.
It also ruled that Ghana has not violated Côte d’Ivoire’s sovereign rights with its oil exploration in the disputed basin.
The dispute started since Ghana’s discovery of oil in 2007 which Ivory Coast laid claims to.
Series of failed negotiations led Ghana to file a case at the ITLOS in 2014 to rule on the delimitation of the maritime boundary between the two countries.
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By: Philip Nii Lartey/citifmonline.com/Ghana