The Commissioner General of the Ghana Boundary Commission, Major General Anthony Ntem, has dismissed suggestions that Ghana’s decision to seek international arbitration over its maritime boundary dispute with Togo will negatively affect relations between the two neighbouring countries.
Ghana has announced its decision to refer the long-standing maritime boundary issue with Togo to international arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), after years of negotiations failed to produce a final agreement.
In a press statement issued on Friday, February 20, 2026 by Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Spokesperson to the President and Minister for Government Communications, the Office of the Presidency indicated that the move follows eight years of negotiations that have failed to produce an agreed outcome.
According to the statement, Ghana has taken the step to avoid further escalation of incidents that have created tensions between institutions in both countries.
Speaking on the development on Hot Edition on 3FM, Major General Ntem said Ghana had previously pursued a similar legal process with Cote d’Ivoire
“I don’t think it will have any negative impact between the two countries because we did the same thing with Cote d’Ivoire and it did not have any negative impact,” he stated on Friday, February 20, 2026.
He explained that the move to arbitration is aimed at securing an amicable and lasting resolution to the maritime boundary issue.
According to him, establishing a clearly defined maritime boundary would help prevent future disputes and create certainty for economic activities along the coast for Ghana.
“If we have a very clearly defined maritime boundary, I think it will prevent future conflict and allow our fishermen to go to sea at peace, allow investors to come into the country to carry out exploration activities and as well as allow other activities to take place,” he said.
The Ghana Boundary Commission maintains that the arbitration process is a legal and peaceful mechanism designed to strengthen clarity, promote regional stability, and safeguard national interests.
Background
According to Major General Anthony Ntem, Ghana and Togo have respected a common maritime boundary for 5 decades. However, in December 2016 whiles Ghanaian vessels were conducting seismic activities within its territorial waters which were considered as Ghana’s area, Togolese Navy intercepted these vessels and prevented them from carrying out the seismic activity.
In may 2018, the then President Akufo-Addo sent a delegation led by the then Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo to the Togolese government.
The two governments subsequently agreed to set up a negotiating team to come out with a delimited maritime boundary between the two countries. The team held several meetings, as many as 11, however, the negotiation ended inconclusive in 2022.
Major General Anthony Ntem noted that throughout the negotiation, Ghana came out with an accepted standard maritime boundary line. However, Togo, he said, was very inconsistent.
He claimed that on three different occasions, the Togolese government came out with three different proposals which do not conform to any internationally accepted standard.
“The Togolese are actually bent on taking part of our territory which we think will not augur well for the co-existence of these two different countries. They intend to expand their anchorage and also get some oil blocs within our territory. We think that it means seeding part of our territory,” he told 3FM on Hot Edition.
