AMFS/NILSA

The African Maritime Forces Summit and Navy Infantry Leadership Symposium Africa feature page.

Event Description
Objectives
Conference Topics
History
Agenda
Additional Languages
REGISTRATION

Event Description: U.S. Naval Forces Africa, U.S. Marine Forces Africa, and the Ghanaian Navy will tri-chair the African Maritime Forces Summit / Naval Infantry Leaders Symposium – Africa (NILSA), occurring from 29 April to 2 May 2024 in Accra, Ghana. This historic conference will bring together service chiefs and senior leaders of allied and partner nation Maritime Forces and militaries from over 40 countries. Attendees will discuss aspects of naval capabilities such as promoting shared awareness, interoperability, and crisis response capabilities, shared security objectives, and capacity building to improve Africa’s maritime domain security.

African Maritime Forces Summit / Naval Infantry Leadership Symposium – Africa

“Cooperation at Sea: Safeguarding African Maritime Security”

This event will be the largest maritime security-focused conference in Africa. It is a high-level forum to address maritime security challenges common within the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean to identify, share and implement solutions. Demonstrating U.S. naval integration and international partnership, the conference will address topics across the breadth of challenges and opportunities facing African coastal nations.

Participating leaders may be asked to speak at one of five panel discussions focused on the theme. Those panels will be:

Strategies for Cooperation
The Spectrum of Maritime Action: At Sea and in the Littorals
Assessing Maritime Security Interventions: Refining Global Partnerships
Models for Combined Operations
Countering and Prosecuting Illicit Maritime Activity: From Piracy to IUUF

In addition to panel discussions, leaders will have the opportunity to dialogue in a small group breakout sessions conducted after each panel. There will be five breakout groups:

North Africa and the Mediterranean
West Africa
Central Africa
South and East Africa
Senior Enlisted

Interpretation support for French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Arabic will be provided throughout, and one-on-one time is built into the schedule for meetings between the leaders of all nations.

Conference Topics: The conference will focus on five main topics, defined below: Strategies for Cooperation, The Spectrum of Maritime Action – At Sea and in the Littorals, Models for Combined Operations, Countering Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported Fishing (IUUF) and Illicit Maritime Activity, and the Prosecution of Maritime Crimes.

Strategies for Cooperation: Cooperation includes matters requiring humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), which can consist of emergency aid to help vulnerable populations meet immediate needs. It can also encompass preventative measures, meant to mitigate conditions that could lead to humanitarian crises or natural disasters, and post-crisis measures to help communities recover and rebuild.

https://www.africom.mil/what-we-do/security-cooperation/foreign-humanitarian-assistance#:~:text=U.S.%20Africa%20Command's%20Humanitarian%20Assistance,and%20respect%20for%20universal%20human

The Spectrum of Maritime Action (At Sea and in the Littorals): Riverine operations consist of combat operations carried out from restricted inland waters, which can open previously inaccessible terrain and enable navigation through population centers, industry, bridges, dams, and canals. Investing in river protection, as well as riverine forces can benefit internal stability.

Models for Combined Operations: Promoting interoperability across units and countries provides preparation for moments in which combined operations are necessary. This can include providing equipment to partners, training partners to operate and care for equipment independently, and working to identify long-term solutions to persistent issues. Additionally, efforts to promote maritime domain awareness solutions to mitigate ‘dark areas’ that make tracking IUUF more difficult can benefit multiple countries.

https://www.volpe.dot.gov/news/seavision-improves-africas-maritime-picture

Countering IUUF and Illicit Maritime Activity: Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported Fishing threatens global ecosystems and violates national and international fishing regulations. The growth of IUUF is a threat to regional and global maritime security and West Africa is considered the global epicenter of IUUF. More than 40% of reported IUUF occurs in the Gulf of Guinea and across the African continent, governments lose an estimated $11.5 billion USD annually, according to the Financial Transparency Coalition. IUUF directly connects to other types of illicit maritime activity, such as piracy, and any discussion of mitigation requires understanding of the broader illicit environment.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/understanding-illegal-unreported-and-unregulated-fishing

Prosecution of Maritime Crimes: Maritime crimes can include piracy, armed robberies, ship hijacking, the destruction of ships, endangerment of safe navigation on the seas, and sailing or fishing in an unauthorized area. Discussions of common standards and frameworks for prosecuting maritime crimes will aim to decrease the incentives for illicit actors to perform such activities.

The combination of African Maritime Forces Summit (AMFS) / Naval Infantry Leaders Symposium – Africa (NILSA) in 2024 will bring naval and naval infantry leaders together to discuss opportunities for collaboration in maritime security.

History of the Naval Infantry Leaders Symposium – Africa

The first iteration of the Naval Infantry Leaders Symposium – Africa occurred virtually in July 2021 with more than 16 countries in attendance from across Europe and Africa. The second iteration, cohosted by the Senegalese Navy and U.S. Marine Forces Africa, occurred in Dakar, Senegal in July 2022 with participation from 36 countries. The event offered a multinational, Africa-focused forum, designed to bring together partner nations with marine forces and naval infantries to develop interoperability, crisis response capabilities, and foster relationships to improve Africa’s maritime domain security.

https://www.dvidshub.net/video/849814/naval-infantry-leaders-symposium-africa-2022

History of the African Maritime Forces Summit

The first African Maritime Forces Summit took place in Cabo Verde in March 2023. The event brought together heads of navies, coast guards, and naval infantries from 38 countries for discussions of strategic and operational approaches to maritime security. Presentations focused on collective responses to maritime security challenges, service focused events, and regional challenges and responses. Participants had the opportunity to conduct one-on-one meetings and foster long-lasting relationships with other attendees.