A new regional maritime security project that will focus on the Red Sea area and some of its surrounding countries was launched in Djibouti earlier this month.
The Regional Programme for Maritime Security in the Red Sea Area, which is funded by the European Union, will focus on supporting Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen across four key areas of maritime security:
The launch follows a six-month inception phase, during which the project team met remotely with the main stakeholders of each beneficiary country to agree on tailored workplans. Implementation is now underway, starting with legal gap analyses and assistance to maritime authorities in ratifying or strengthening the implementation of relevant regional agreements on Port State Control.
The other implementing partners on the project include the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), INTERPOL, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).