The European Union (EU)-funded Seaport Cooperation Programme (SEACOP) on Monday 12 December 2022 launched the International Seminar “The Pacific-Atlantic Axis: How to provide a comprehensive response against illicit maritime trafficking” in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Held on 12 and 13 December, the International Seminar aims to establish a comprehensive strategy to support the fight of regional authorities against the threat of illicit maritime trafficking in the Pacific area to Europe.
It aims to bring together the capacities of all actors involved in the fight against the global threat, bringing together the authorities of the countries, the different EU projects and programmes, as well as the private sector (maritime companies, port authorities, including in Europe). It aims to establish a global response to the current threat of illicit maritime trafficking, particularly drug trafficking. The involvement of the various European partners is essential to achieve the desired result. More specifically, it seeks to contribute to the improvement of intelligence gathering along the whole iter criminis of the cocaine route from the producing countries to the final destination, for which the support of the private sector is necessary.
Invited are local and Pacific region authorities (Colombia, Peru and Panama), as well as European shipping and port authorities. Representatives of the embassies of European countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy and Sweden – also participated.
The participants were welcomed by the Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguín, the Director for South America of the European External Action Service, Véronique Lorenzo, and the Director of SEACOP V, Dominique Bucas.
“Ecuador is one of the countries in the region with the highest participation in EU regional security projects, which is not only an example in the region but the fruit of close, frank and exemplary coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the various ministries and state institutions, the European Union in Ecuador and our dear colleagues from EU Member States’ agencies who implement the programmes with their strong expertise” commented Charles-Michel Geurts, the EU Ambassador to Ecuador.
“As illicit maritime trafficking continues to grow, with an increasing number of pollution of ports in Europe, such as Antwerp, regional cooperation needs to be further strengthened. We also need a concerted and coordinated global response, involving all sectors, from shipping companies to port authorities and operators in the countries suffering from this scourge,” said Dominique Bucas.
SEACOP’s overall objective is to build capacity and strengthen international cooperation in the fight against maritime trafficking and related criminal networks in West Africa, Latin America and Europe. To this end, the SEACOP project aims to promote the creation of structures that make use of available information through international cooperation. In Latin America, SEACOP is being implemented in Panama, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Ecuador has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SEACOP to improve cooperation in the fight against illicit maritime trafficking.
