By Abiola Olawale
The Gulf of Guinea’s $800bn energy, Oil & Gas and maritime investment opportunities as well as an outlined $3 trillion Coastal economy would be showcased at a High-Level Roundtable on GoG’s $800bn Energy, Oil and Gas, Aviation and Maritime Investment Opportunities in September, in New York as the United Nations General Assembly’s 80th Session commences.
Introduction
The UN General Assembly’s 80th Session (UNGA 80), which has as its theme: “Building our Future Together,” will run from 9-23 September 2025, with an expected focus on peace and security, business and investment, trade, maritime, energy, climate change, sustainable development, and economic resilience.
In this context, The New Diplomat, an Abuja based policy think tank in collaboration with the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) headquartered in Angola- the premier regional framework in the Gulf of Guinea region with diplomatic mandate covering about 25 Coastal African Countries going by the Yaounde Code of Conduct/Architecture, is hosting the High-level Roundtable during the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly, to spotlight the region’s vast economic, investment, energy, trade, and maritime capabilities.
These capabilities make the GoG a vital nexus for global maritime, energy, oil, and gas, and a logistical hub.
According to the program document, the forum would bring together global players across Coastal African Countries, the EU, China, France, the Americas, including the United States, G7, and FoGG, viz. Spain, Germany, Italy, the UK, Japan, and regional organizations, Captains of the private Sector, development finance experts, Sector regulators, private-public sector, international business executives, UN agencies, the African Union, diplomatic missions, GoG top executives in strategic sectors.
The objective of the Roundtable is to draw attention to the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) – a strategically crucial region on account of its importance to regional and global energy, oil and gas, airlifting capabilities, logistics, infrastructure, and maritime frameworks.
Organized under the theme: “Unlocking Energy, Oil & Gas, Minerals and Maritime Opportunities in the Gulf of Guinea: A Roadmap for Peace and Security,” the forum is building upon the inaugural event held during the 70th UNGA, in 2015.
According to its Concept Note, the forum seeks to deepen international engagement on peace and security imperatives and catalyze investment, trade, and business in the region’s energy, oil and gas, mineral, aviation, and maritime sectors.
The Roundtable Program document stated; “The roundtable will hold on Thursday, 25th September 2025, in New York, US. The pre-roundtable welcome dinner will be held on 24th September 2025, 7:00pm-8pm, with the main sessions kicking off on 25th September 2025. And there will be a closing dinner where select top-level personalities and organizations that have made a positive impact in the Gulf of Guinea region will be recognized/honoured at 7:00 pm-8:000pm on 25th September, 2025. The roundtable will extensively highlight and dissect the strategic importance of the Gulf of Guinea and illuminate the region’s peace, security roadmap, $800 billion energy, oil/gas, infrastructure, and maritime business/investment opportunities as well as an outlined $3 trillion African coastal economy prospects. For context, according to the OECD, the African coastal economy is projected to reach $3 trillion in five years, with the GoG contributing $800 billion and creating over 49 million jobs”.
Cruciality of the Gulf of Guinea
There is no doubt that the GoG accounts for about 50% of Africa’s oil with an estimated 10% of global reserves. According to data sourced from the GGC digital footprints, the Gulf of Guinea, which also serves as a vital shipping corridor and a source of abundant natural resources – from hydrocarbons and minerals to fisheries – making it an integral part of a regional and global economic hub, is a nexus for international trade, logistics, and transportation.
However, it remains a hotspot for transnational threats. The Yaoundé Code of Conduct, adopted in 2013 by 25 coastal states, provides a framework to address maritime threats.
Recent developments, such as the federal government of Nigeria’s offer to host the Combined Maritime Task Force (CMTF-GoG) which enjoys broad support, signal positive momentum The September 25, 2025 roundtable serves as a timely international platform to strengthen such regional frameworks, and align peace, security, economic, investment and development aspirations, according to the event programme document.
Benefits to Private Sector, Public Sector & Diplomatic Community
The GoG is a critical gateway for investment, trade, and security cooperation, with over $800 billion in energy, oil and gas, maritime, and infrastructure opportunities. This event provides a rare platform for public-private engagement to unlock the region’s full potential.
Vital Market Access and Partnership formation
High-level government representatives, business leaders, investors from across African coastal countries, and participants will leverage the high-level forum as a strategic platform to align business priorities, strengthen networks, and foster cross-sectoral collaboration—public, private, and multilateral.
Financing/Funding Architecture for Projects in the GoG
Another vital benefit of the forum is that it serves as a platform for the promotion and identification of financing/funding architecture for effective channelization of the Gulf of Guinea’s energy, oil & gas, minerals and maritime resources for regional economic growth, private sector development, and the benefits of citizens.
Deepening Blue Economy and Blue Diplomacy
According to the program, the forum also aims to promote regional collaboration on transnational projects in energy, oil & gas, maritime logistics, airlifting logistics, and minerals. In addition, it is a forum for harnessing emerging opportunities in the Blue Economy, supported by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Innovation and Corporate Vision
CEOs, captains of industry, and leaders of state-owned enterprises will also have a global platform to present their innovations, brands, and development models to a targeted international audience.
Driving Economic Growth and Job Creation
According to the OECD, the African coastal economy is projected to reach $3 trillion by 2030, with the GoG contributing about $800 billion and creating over 49 million jobs. According to analysts, the Roundtable will help position stakeholders at the forefront of this massive transformation.
Bolstering Regional Security
Another benefit is that the forum seeks to build Support for Nigeria’s offer to host the Combined Maritime Task Force (CMTF-GoG) —a pivotal step to address piracy, oil theft, and maritime crime in the GoG.
Impacting Regulatory and Security Frameworks
Going by the programme, it is also designed to help in the evolution of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct into a binding legal framework, promote harmonized enforcement mechanisms and operationalization of the ASF/CMTF-GoG to safeguard regional assets and reduce investment risks.
Fortifying for Intra-African Trade Growth
Industry players maintain that as AfCFTA removes trade barriers, investments in coastal infrastructure and maritime security will facilitate up to $560 billion in additional trade, including $450 billion in oil, gas, and maritime commerce over the next decade.
Cooperation in Logistical Innovation and Regional Business Dynamics
The forum also aims to enhance technical cooperation and logistical innovation while accelerating regional business synergies through exploration of joint ventures and policy dialogues on aviation, strategic airlifting, and supply chain resilience—critical to peacekeeping, commerce, and regional response capabilities. It will also forge alliances between established and emerging energy-producing countries, and enable peer learning, private sector matchmaking, and knowledge-sharing that will help catalyze regional business growth and prosperity.
While throwing light on the event, Ambassador Oma Djebah, former Nigerian Ambassador to Thailand with concurrent accreditation to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in Bangkok, and a Co-Lead host of the Roundtable, said the business community in the Gulf of Guinea region including Nigerian businesses have a lot to benefit from leveraging the abundant economic, investment, trade and business opportunities in the Gulf of Guinea.
He explained to The New Diplomat that the objectives of the September 25, 2025, New York high-level roundtable include facilitation of enhanced multi-stakeholder partnerships and collaborations in business, investment, and trade opportunities as well as fostering of appropriate multilateral frameworks to support the vision of the GGC.
He said: “Other key objectives of the high-level roundtable include showcasing national and regional efforts to strengthen energy, oil and gas, aviation and blue economies, advancing infrastructure and maritime security, and supporting the regional roadmap for peace, security, and sustainable development. The forum seeks to promote an enhanced private-public sector collaboration to unlock the region’s $800 billion infrastructure, oil & gas, minerals, and energy opportunities.”
Similarly, Ambassador Mohammed Bello Abioye, former Nigerian Ambassador to Pakistan with concurrent accreditation to the Maldives, who is a Co-Lead host of the event said expected outcomes from the high-level roundtable, include strengthened economic development efforts, enhanced investor confidence through clearer governance frameworks; expanded networks for B2B, G2G, and P2P cooperation in maritime, oil and gas, energy, aviation and infrastructure development.
Conclusion
According to Abioye, others include: Unlocking funding/investment opportunities for both public and private sector players in the Gulf of Guinea region and facilitation of the creation of the Gulf of Guinea Business Roundtable (GGBRT) as a strategic regional business network, and a nexus for private & public sector engagement in the GoG.
The expected outcome from the roundtable include specific key benefits and value proposition. According to Amb. Djebah, these include: “ Mobilization of investments in maritime, oil & gas, and minerals’ projects in the GoG region; Showcase public-private collaboration models aligned with AfCFTA, Agenda 2063, and SDG 14 (Life Below Water); Drive technical partnerships around logistics, airlift, minerals, energy, oil and gas, and maritime capabilities, and promote the private Sector to benefit from the $800bn investment opportunities and a projected $3 trillion Coastal economy by the next five years.”
Target participants at the roundtable include representatives from: UN, AU, ECOWAS, ECCAS, GGC; State-owned national energy companies, transnational Private Sector conglomerates; Global players (WTO)/GGC member States, NUPRCs; Diplomatic Missions/Specialized entities with interests in the GoG; National Govts (Oil & Gas, Defence, Energy, mineral, Trade, Aviation, Maritime); Development Finance Institutions (World Bank, AfDB, Afreximbank); Private Sector (Oil, Gas, Maritime, Mineral, Aviation, Logistics); and Sub-nationals governments, academia & global think-tanks.
