Ghana and Togo Target November 2021 for completion of Maritime Boundary Delimitation Agreement

The plan comes after the two countries held the seventh meeting of the joint Ghana-Togo Maritime Delimitation Technical Committee in Accra.

Kan-Dapaah said, “The Government and People of Ghana are quite optimistic and eagerly looking forward to meeting the November 2021 timeline for signing of the Ghana/Togo Maritime Boundary Delimitation Agreement by which all grey areas will have been clarified.” The Minister added, “Technical support towards the amicable resolution of any contentions in respect of our common boundary will ultimately redefine and consolidate the parameters of our future relations which serves as a catalyst for peace security, economic advancement and stability.”

Ghana and Togo have been holding negotiations regarding their common maritime boundary since 2018. To promote peace and good neighbourliness between Ghana and Togo, the Heads of State of the two countries agreed in 2018 that a peaceful and coordinated joint effort rooted in international law and standards should guide the delimitation of the maritime boundary. The successful determination of a common delimitated maritime boundary between the two countries will hopefully pave the way for the signing of the final Ghana-Togo Maritime Boundary Delimitation Agreement.

Kan-Dapaah has also asked the Ghana Boundary Commission to initiate the establishment of a Joint Ghana-Togo Land Technical Committee to resolve all existing land boundary issues between the two West African States, following on an audit that it launched in April 2021 to help avert land disputes between the two countries.

“While the focus over the past three days (23rd – 25th June 2021) has been primarily on our maritime boundary, it is worth highlighting that Ghana and Togo continue to cooperate on various issues, specifically relating to land boundary issues. Efforts will thus be made to continue to collaborate with Togo on all land issues so that they can be resolved amicably as well,” Kan-Dapaah said. “I wish to recommend the establishment of a Joint Technical Committee for Land Boundary between our two countries. The Joint Committee shall jointly resolve all land boundary issues amicably for the peaceful co-existence of the two countries. I wish to task the Ghana Boundary Commission to initiate this idea,” Kan-Dapaah added.

The Ghana–Togo Border stretches over a distance of 1,098 kilometres from the tri-point with Burkina Faso in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the south.

Sources:

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Tackle-Ghana-Togo-land-boundary-disputes-Kan-Dapaah-to-Ghana-Boundary-Commission-1296595

https://www.businessghana.com/site/news/politics/241033/Ghana-Togo-Maritime-Boundary-Negotiations-Meeting-underway-in-Accra

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Ghana-Togo-project-November-timeline-to-sign-Maritime-Boundary-Delimitation-Agreement-1294876