As the 80th United Nations General Assembly opens, global CEOs, top diplomats, ministers, governors, and industry leaders from over a dozen countries are set to gather in New York for a high-level roundtable.
The event, titled “Unlocking Energy, Oil & Gas, Minerals, Aviation, and Maritime Opportunities in the Gulf of Guinea: A Roadmap for Peace and Security,” seeks to open up over $800 billion in investment opportunities in the region and tap into the broader $3 trillion coastal African economy.
According to a statement made available on Wednesday, the forum, convened by Abuja-based think tank, The New Diplomat, in collaboration with the Gulf of Guinea Commission, is organised on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The event will be chaired by Professor Ibrahim Gambari, a scholar-diplomat and former Nigerian foreign minister and UN under-secretary-general, whose long diplomatic record includes two terms as President of the UN Security Council.
Ambassador Oma Djebah, co-host and founding chairman of The New Diplomat, said the meeting was designed to spotlight the Gulf of Guinea’s resource wealth and catalyse public-private partnerships.
“The high-level forum will also spotlight coastal Africa’s rich economy projected at $3 trillion to harness the inherent benefits of its vast economic, investment, minerals, oil & gas, energy, aviation and maritime capabilities for the overall benefit of public and private sector players in the Gulf of Guinea region,” Ambassador Djebah told delegates.
Outlining expected outcomes of the programme, Co-host Ambassador Mohammed Bello Abioye, a former Nigerian envoy to Pakistan, said stronger governance and institutional frameworks will be designed to improve investor confidence and new funding channels for large-scale projects.
“Other objectives include unlocking funding/investment opportunities for both public and private sector players in the Gulf of Guinea region and facilitation of the creation of the Gulf of Guinea Business Council (GGBC) as a strategic regional business network and a nexus for private and public sector engagement in the GoG,” the statement quoted Abioye.
According to the programme brochure, other aims include creating a unique forum for fostering strategic G2G, B2B and P2P networks across international jurisdictions with eyes on investment prospects, direct access to target business markets, as well as potential cross-sector collaborations.
Additional objectives include the need to unlock the Gulf of Guinea’s over $800 billion energy, oil and gas, infrastructure, and maritime business opportunities, as well as an outlined $3 trillion African coastal economy prospects.
The strategic benefits of the one-day important event include catalysing Blue economy, Blue Diplomacy and organisational positioning within the evolving intra-African business eco-system, as well as opportunities for stakeholders in the AfCFTA and structured financing frameworks for large-scale projects in energy, oil & gas, aviation, minerals and maritime sectors.
Other key benefits include fostering mechanisms for strengthened cooperation among the 19 coastal states of the Gulf of Guinea and the broader 38 African coastal nations, mobilizing investment in maritime, oil and gas, energy, aviation and minerals projects across the GoG region, supporting the GGC as a regional coordination hub, showcasing public -private collaboration models aligned with AFCFTA Agenda 2063, and SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and driving technical partnerships around logistics, airlifts, and maritime development.
