THE AU 2050 AFRICA’S INTEGRATED MARITIME STRATEGY MAKING STRIDES ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

Lisbon, December 5, 2013 -At the invitation of the Portuguese Government, a delegation from the African Union (AU) 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy (2050 AIM-Strategy) Task Force participated in the Lisbon Atlantic Conference held on December 4-5, 2013.

The theme of the Conference was “Blue Growth of the Atlantic”, a theme that situates the importance of the Atlantic Ocean as a sea of opportunities, an image well-captured by the Portuguese who describe their country as made of 3% of land and 97% of opportunity.
It was indeed very important that the hosts invited the AU Commission as they have expressed their keen interest in playing an important role, through a transfer of maritime know-how and technological expertise, in the implementation of the 2050 AIM-Strategy and its Plan of Action, an African driven vision geared towards Blue Growth promotion.

Led by the Coordinator of the 2050 AIM-Strategy Task Force, Mr. Samuel KAME-DOMGUIA, the AU delegation, in the margins of the Conference, met with the Portuguese Minister of Agriculture and Sea, the European Union (EU) Director-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, who was representing the President of the EU Commission, the Portuguese Secretary of State for the Sea, the Special Advisor on Maritime Affairs and Environment to the President of the Portuguese Republic, the Director-General of Maritime Policy, to only cite a few. These meetings with various maritime authorities were motivated by the Task Force’s intention to elaborate more on how the AU 2050 AIM-Strategy would contribute to positively change the destiny of African populations through blue growth promotion.

Seen as the “new frontline of Africa's renaissance” as stressed by the 387th Peace and Security Council in its Final Communiqué on July 29, 2013, Blue Economy and Blue Growth constitute the essence of the 2050 AIM-Strategy, a very innovative, comprehensive and integrative vision that seeks to promote Africa’s maritime resources and the all economy around the continent’s maritime industry.

At the end of the visit, both parties, the AU and the Portuguese Government, agreed to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to seal their keen determination to cooperate for the sake of a win-win partnership so to protect our waters and the marine life, and, by the same token, take advantage of the incommensurable wealth sited beneath ours waters, seas and oceans.

For further details on the 2050 AIM-Strategy and its Plan of Action, please visit: www.au.int/maritime