Maritime security to be improved, says Angola’s Foreign Affairs Minister Francisco José da Cruz

The Angolan Executive intends to improve in the next two years the internal mechanisms of collaboration to increase efficacy and minimise the doubling of efforts in the framework of the maritime protection and security.

Under such strategy, it is predicted the sharing of information and the definition of responsibilities with other 38 coastal states.

To the director of the Europe Department of the Angolan Foreign Affairs Ministry, Francisco José da Cruz, the strategy is of fundamental importance, since over 90 per cent of imports and exports among African countries take place through maritime or fluvial routes.

Francisco José da Cruz, who spoke last Thursday at the closing of the workshop on "The National Maritime Strategy" stated that for the year 2019 it is foreseen an evaluation of the Angolan juridical framework in issues relating to maritime security.

He went on to explain that the idea is to adopt norms that criminalise acts of piracy and armed robberies at sea, trafficking of human beings, illegal immigration and fishing, terrorism and money laundering. In this ambit, the director of the Centre for Public Law Studies of the state-owned Agostinho Neto University (UAN), Raúl Araújo, has confirmed the holding of a diagnosis on the country's maritime sector's legislation.

On his turn, the vice chairman of the Angolan Centre for Strategic Studies, Manuel Correia Barros, has stressed that the new law is to reinforce the fight against maritime piracy and the monitoring mechanisms. Backed by the European Union (U.E), the workshop had the objective to create a space of reflection, debate and exchange of experiences on the drafting of a national maritime strategy.

With inputs from agency