African Union Blue Economy Summit Boosts Africa's Oceans

The 3rd Africa Blue Economy Week (ABEW) has officially been launched in Luanda, Angola. African Union Blue Economy Summit, The conference brings together policy-makers and investors to explore how the continent could capitalize on its ocean economy.

The three-day conference will be held beginning July 22 in order to find ways of expanding Africa’s blue economy through sustainable fisheries, marine transportation, and renewable ocean energies.

Which Are the Countries Will Stand to Gain Much from This Conference?

As African countries try to diversify their economies and provide employment opportunities, certain countries will get more benefits from this summit.

Africa Blue Economy Week: What is It?

The Africa Blue Economy Week is one of the major forums of the continent aimed at sustainable utilization of ocean and freshwater resources.

The conference is aligned with the Agenda 2063 of the African Union and will help build stronger:

Sustainable fisheries
Maritime transport and logistics
Coastal tourism
Marine conservation
Offshore renewable energy
Aquaculture and food security

The 2023 summit will focus specifically on financing, innovation, and regional collaboration to enhance Africa’s blue economy.

What Countries Will Benefit the Most?

Angola

Being the host country, Angola is planning to leverage the summit in order to promote economic diversification away from its mainstay oil industry.

Given the 1,600+ kilometers of coastline along the Atlantic Ocean, Angola has been developing its:

Fisheries
Port infrastructure
Maritime transport
Coastal tourism
Marine resource management

Development of the blue economy is seen as an important component of Angola’s long-term development.

Countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)

Several SADC member countries have abundant marine and freshwater resources that could be leveraged through regional collaboration.

Some of them are:

Mozambique
Namibia
Tanzania

Areas of development at the summit include:

Offshore energy development
Sustainable fishing
Port modernization
Inland water transport
Marine conservation

Kenya and Madagascar

Coastal and island economies like Kenya and Madagascar stand to benefit from sustainable aquaculture and community-based fisheries investments.

Summit initiatives include:

Youth entrepreneurship.
Women’s fisheries enterprises.
Climate-smart aquaculture.
Seafood supply chains.

The programs are designed to boost food security by providing additional income streams for coastal economies.

Main Objectives of the Summit

The participants hope to accomplish several long-term objectives, including:

Boosting Africa’s Blue Economy

African governments hope to boost the value of Africa’s blue economy to some $405 billion by 2030-2063 as a result of increased investments in marine industries.

Creating More Employment Opportunities

There are tens of millions of jobs within the sector currently in fisheries, shipping, tourism, and other related industries.

The summit hopes to increase employment opportunities through:

Training.
Support for small businesses.
Sustainable marine industries.
Investments in coastal infrastructure.

Sustainable Development

One of the main objectives of the summit is to make sure that economic growth does not have negative impacts on the marine environment.

The delegates are considering policies that will promote:

Ocean science.
Climate resiliency.
Marine biodiversity.
Sustainable financing.
Governance of the region.

The Importance of the Blue Economy

Africa is endowed with one of the largest marine and freshwater resource stockpiles in the world. However, a lot still needs to be done to unlock the full potential of the blue economy.

Investment in the blue economy will help countries in Africa: