Regional countries agree to fight Somali pirates

January 29, 2009 (DJIBOUTI) — Nine African and Arab countries affected by the Somali pirates agreed today to join their efforts to fight piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.

Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, the Maldives, the Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Yemen, signed a code of conduct during a special meeting convened in Djibouti under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

In accordance with the signed agreement three information centers will be created in Mombasa, Dar es Salaam and Sanaa and a training centre for anti-piracy units in Djibouti.

They nine costal countries also commit themselves to make the necessary changes in their legislations to facilitate the arrest and prosecution of piracy suspects.

Nonetheless, the signatories failed to agree on allowing foreign navies to engage in hot pursuit in Somali territorial waters.

“It is a very serious issue under international law and sovereignty. There is a principle that each ship pursuing a pirate has to ask for the permission of the concerned state to enter its waters. We have decided to stay on this principle,” explained Koji Sekimizu, head of the IMO’s maritime safety division.

Around 140 foreign vessels were attacked by Somali pirates in 2008, threatening to disrupt world trade and making Somalia’s waters the world’s most dangerous.

(ST)