2006年VOA标准英语-Africans React Positively to US Help in Gulf of

（单词翻译）

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
14 November 2006 

Youth struggling to make ends meet in Conakry, Guinea

African security and maritime¹ officials are reacting positively² to increased U.S. help in stabilizing³ the Gulf⁴ of Guinea.  A three-day U.S. sponsored workshop on addressing challenges of Africa's volatile⁵ Atlantic coast is being held in Benin.

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The U.S. Defense⁶ and State Departments are sponsoring the conference in Benin's capital Cotonou.

Wednesday, government ministers from nearly a dozen Gulf of Guinea countries will be taking part, alongside State Department Africa experts and top officials from U.S. naval⁷ forces based in Europe.

One of the participants during the first two days was Fulgor Ngobo, a top official from the Republic of Congo's defense department.

He told VOA Africans do not have the resources, the materials or the technological⁸ know-how⁹ to guarantee their own maritime security.

Ngobo says the problems are many, from the trafficking and migration¹⁰ of people, to weapons dealing¹¹, illegal fishing and transport of hazardous¹² waste. He says all help is needed to enhance security.

A top official from the host country's fishing ministry¹³, Benin's Victor Akpatchossou, says the partnership¹⁴ can also help economically.

He says better security will lead to increased fishing, which he says is an important part of local economies.

Prior to the conference, some African commentators¹⁶ expressed concern in local newspapers that the U.S. government may be organizing the conference because of concerns of a growing regional terrorist threat.

They also wrote the increased security attention may be tied to a future boost in oil production in the Gulf of Guinea, which has often caused instability, most notably¹⁷ in Nigeria's Niger Delta¹⁸.

Benin commentator¹⁵ Gerard Guedegbe says U.S. officials have told their local audience this is not the case. He says they have focused on immediate¹⁹ African needs, of which he says there are plenty.

"We have encountered too many safety problems at sea. There are many smugglers. There are also problems of illegal fishing," said Guedegbe. "I think that this conference can help elaborate a road map and also it will contribute to the regional total security among the member states of the Guinea Gulf."

The workshop is taking place just as the U.S. Defense Department says it is working on a plan for possibly creating an Africa Command in the U.S. military structure.

A Pentagon spokesman says the aim would be to respond to humanitarian²⁰ problems, and promote stability as well as help fight terrorism.