Bergis Frimpong
Ninetyeightz Media, organizers of the Ghana Maritime & Shipping Awards and Aviation Awards, has congratulated the government for emerging victorious in the three-year long maritime dispute between the country and Côte d’Ivoire.
In a statement issued in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) 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 committing themselves to settling the dispute.
He said his outfit was very happy that the two countries had been able to defuse such a complicated security and economic threat with maturity and cooperation.
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 congratulating judges of the Special Chamber and the legal and technical teams of both countries for bringing an end to the matter, CEO of Nightyeightz Media, also paid glowing tribute to the government of Ghana for the various roles it played towards the victory.
On 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 regard to oil exploration in the disputed basin.
The dispute started in 2007 when Ghana discovered oil, 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.
A business desk report