Somalia has become the 14th signatory to the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct, IMO announced. The Code, developed and adopted by countries in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, has been a key factor in repressing piracy and armed robbery against ships operating in the region.
The Amendment significantly broadened the scope of the Djibouti Code when it was adopted at a high-level meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in January 2017. It covers measures for suppressing a range of illicit activities, including piracy, arms trafficking, trafficking in narcotics, illegal trade in wildlife, illegal oil bunkering, crude oil theft, human trafficking, human smuggling, and illegal dumping of toxic waste.
Mariam Aweis, Minister of Marine Transport and Ports, Federal Government of Somalia, deposited the instrument at IMO Headquarters in London, on 1 December.
Other signatories include Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen.
