MOWCA

The Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), an intergovernmental body of about 25 coastal and landlocked member states headquartered in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Originally founded in 1975 as the Ministerial Conference of West and Central African States on Maritime Transport, it coordinates shipping policy, port cooperation, and maritime safety and security across the region. MOWCA promoted an integrated coast-guard network for West and Central Africa and feeds the regional security architecture that the Yaounde Code of Conduct later formalized.