Following the gains of the country’s blue economy and successes recorded in maritime security, the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo has been scheduled to deliver lead lecture on the topic at an international symposium in South Africa.
The symposium billed to hold between May 4 and 5, was initiated by the Security Watch Africa Initiatives (SWAI) and the Centre for Military Studies (CEMIS), Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
A statement by the President, SWAI, Patrick Agbambu, gave the theme of the symposium as “Blue Ocean Economy and Security in Africa: Challenges and prospects for Agenda 2063.”
He said; “The symposium, holding at the STIAS Conference Centre, Stellenbosch, South Africa, seeks to explore various aspects of the Blue Ocean Economy and the potential roles that the Navies of various countries can play, in conjunction with public and private sector entities, in ensuring security on the continent’s ocean waters.”
“It is aimed at articulating practical mechanism in actualizing the Blue Ocean Economy for the African continent using the Nigeria’s Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo’s outstanding leadership at the Nigerian Navy.”
Agbambu said discussions would also explore how the naval forces in the continent had experienced the unlocking of blue economies, adding that it would foster inter-naval co-operations and relationships between ECOWAS and Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
According to him, the symposium was providing an important opportunity for the Chiefs of Navies to frame the agenda for naval participation in their respective Blue water economies.
“It will allow each Navy to provide a keynote address regarding their experiences in defending the blue water economy.”
“There will also be syndicate discussions, and a feedback session to allow each syndicate to report their findings.”
“The conference will close with a consolidated report of these findings,” said the SWAI President.