On Wednesday, the National Boundary Commission (NBC) held a joint technical meeting with its Ghanaian counterpart on the delimitation of the common maritime boundary between the two countries.

The NBC team was led by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada, while national coordinator Emmanuel Kotia led the delegation from Ghana.

Discussions at the meeting focused primarily on amicably resolving the definition of the maritime boundary between Nigeria and Ghana.

This aimed to forestall any crisis that might arise from the shared aquatic resources and other maritime issues.

A statement issued by NBC spokeswoman Efe Ovuakporie on Wednesday in Abuja said Mr Dada was represented by an official of the ministry, Yahaya Faruk.

Declaring the meeting open, the minister urged officials of both countries to develop enduring solutions that would further strengthen the already existing cordial relationship between Nigeria and Ghana.

He added that nature had bequeathed both countries with shared culture and values and a common boundary in the sea despite being geographically separated by two other countries, Togo and the Benin Republic.

Mr Dada lauded the concrete steps taken by both countries, geared towards addressing concerns that might affect diplomatic ties whilst fostering unity between both countries.

He maintained that it was the responsibility of the Federal Government to ensure a healthy relationship with neighbouring countries.

The minister, therefore, urged the meeting to come up with practical strategies that would ensure that the maritime boundary definition was economically and mutually beneficial to the two countries.

The United Nations and the International Law of the Sea allow a country to move its boundary up to 200 nautical miles into the sea.

Efforts by both countries to resolve the maritime boundary issues in the past had not yielded results.

After the deliberations, the meeting constituted a Joint Technical Sub-committee to consider details of the delimitation of the maritime boundary.

The next meeting is scheduled for the first quarter of 2022 in Ghana.

(NAN)