The Royal Atlantic Initiative: a historic and strategic turning point for Africa

The Executive Secretary of the Ministerial Conference on Cooperation in Maritime Fisheries between African States bordering the Atlantic, Toufik Al Kthiry, affirmed today in Fez that the Atlantic initiative launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI to Facilitating access for coastal countries to the Atlantic Ocean represents “a historic and strategic turning point for a prosperous Africa”.

Al Kthiry said, during a workshop on the theme “Communication for a sustainable and inclusive blue economy”, organized by the Ministerial Conference in partnership with the Media Observatory for Sustainable Fisheries in Africa, that the The royal initiative for an integrated and prosperous continent constitutes a strong signal for African countries and an opportunity to achieve regional integration.

He added that the royal initiative is a symbol of a Morocco fully integrated in Africa, where it plays an innovative role in the search for solutions and stability, particularly with regard to food security, largely favored by sustainable exploitation. and rational use of resources.

He stressed that this meeting is part of this context and confirms the commitment of the Ministerial Conference on Cooperation in Maritime Fisheries between African States bordering the Atlantic, through its links and partnerships, to contribute to the achievement of the development objectives of a sustainable and inclusive blue economy, which will constitute an important lever for growth.

He also stressed that the general objective is to raise awareness of the importance of supporting the media in the field of the blue economy to facilitate the adoption of regional and national strategies adapted to communication to support the establishment and monitoring of relevant sustainable blue economy initiatives in Africa, particularly at the level of Ministerial Conference Member States.

He also indicated that this workshop represents an important opportunity to take advantage of innovative initiatives and projects, such as the Moroccan Maritime Fisheries Observatory, as a tool for communication and instant exchange of scientific data related to maritime fishing, and the African television project dedicated to the dissemination of information and knowledge, based on the collaborative platform of the Blue Belt Initiative.

For her part, Victoire Yao Yubo, journalist from Ivory Coast – Media Observatory for Sustainable Fisheries in Africa, in a statement to the press, welcomed the Atlantic initiative of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to facilitate access coastal countries in the Atlantic Ocean, believing that “African countries do not benefit sufficiently from maritime wealth”.

She added: “In my country, Côte d'Ivoire, we have 550 km of coastline, and unfortunately, there are disasters today like marine pollution which constitutes a real obstacle.”

Ms. Yao Yubo also called for continued efforts to support initiatives such as those launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in Morocco, in order to achieve sustainable development in Africa, by exploiting its oceans and marine resources, and developing other concepts that could enable the continent to achieve real prosperity.

For his part, Marcel Aka, spokesperson for the Media Observatory for Sustainable Fisheries in Africa, welcomed the Atlantic initiative of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, emphasizing the importance of the subject of discussion during the workshop. , which “calls for cooperation between African countries and collective awareness because the challenges are significant”.

She explained that the blue economy takes into account waste management which affects the sustainability of the sector and also threatens food security.

The work of the workshop, which will take place over two days, will focus on several axes, in particular “the role of regional maritime fishing organizations in the governance of the blue economy”, “the blue economy, pillar of a new development model in Morocco”, “financing mechanisms for the blue economy”, “the blue belt initiative: for scientific, economic and environmental integration in the service of the blue economy”, and “fishing and aquaculture, foundations of a sustainable blue economy in the space of the Ministerial Conference »

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