On the lines of the high level meeting of the Djibouti Code of Conduct/ Jeddah Amendment (DCOC/JA) held virtually on 26 August 2020, India has joined the DCOC/JA Amendment, as Observer in order to collaborate with DCOC/JA member states towards for enhancing maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
- With this, India joins Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) as Observers to the DCOC/JA.
About Djibouti Code of Conduct/ Jeddah Amendment (DCOC/JA):
Adopted in January 2009 it is a grouping on maritime matters aiming to prevent piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, the East coast of Africa and Island countries in the IOR. Currently it has 20 member states from the 21 eligible to sign. The signatory states have to cooperate in preventing maritime crime, maritime terrorism, illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing and other illegal activities at the sea.
- In 2017, a high level meeting of DCOC member states was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where revised Code of Conduct was adopted named “Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct 2017” or DCOC/JA.
- Its member states are supported by International Maritime Organization (IMO) for implementing the DCOC through its Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP) and activities funded by the Djibouti Code Trust Fund.
- Member States: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Seychelles, Somalia, the United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen, Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Jordan, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Point to be noted:
India has been increasing its strategic presence in Western and Eastern Indian Ocean besides Eastern African coastal states. France is India’s key partner in this part of Indo-Pacific region.
Recent Related News:
- Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) signed a contract to build the world’s first fully automatic electric vessel for ASKO Maritime, Norway. In this regard, CSL will construct and supply two autonomous electric ferries to ASKO Maritime at a cost of Rs 125 crore. The project, partially funded by the Norwegian Government, aimed at emission-free transport of goods across the Oslofjord, inlet in Norway.
- On 20th August, 2020, A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship(MSDE) for skilling, re-skilling and upskilling of manpower in Port, Maritime sectors.
About Djibouti:
Capital– Djibouti
Currency– Djiboutian franc (DJF)
President– Ismail Omar Guelleh
About International Maritime Organization (IMO):
Secretary-General– Kitack Lim ,Efthymios Mitropoulos
Headquarter– London, United Kingdom (UK)
Members States– 174 and 3 Associate Members
