After eight years of failed bilateral negotiations between Ghana and Togo over the maritime boundary, Ghana has officially notified her West African neighbour to seek international arbitration.
This, according to the government of Ghana, will delimit the maritime boundary between the two West African countries.
It would be recalled that Togolese authorities stopped Ghanaian seismic vessels finding deep-sea data acquisition in the area near Togo’s water in December 2017 and May 2018 leading to a maritime boundary dispute between the two neighbouring countries.
Efforts to settle the dispute between Ghana and Togo have been proven unsuccessful for the past eight years.
In a statement signed by Spokesperson to the President and Government Communications, Felix Kwakue Ofosu, said Ghana wants the dispute between Ghana and Togo be delimited by recourse to international arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“The Government of Ghana has served the Government of Togo with notice of its decision that the maritime boundary between Ghana and Togo be delimited by recourse to international arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).” The statement said.
Adding that “This follows attempts at negotiating a boundary which have gone on for the past eight years but have not resulted in an agreed outcome.”
The statement further stated that the decision is aimed at avoiding an escalation of incidents that have created tension between some of the institutions and to promote an amicable resolution.
Statement says “Ghana has taken this step in order to avoid an escalation of incidents that have created tensions between some of our institutions and to promote an amicable resolution, thereby contributing to the continued good relations between our two countries.”
