Aware of the considerable economic potential of blue economy activities, Morocco has for years positioned itself as an invested player in global and regional agendas contributing to the development of a sustainable and inclusive blue economy, notably the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, the International Agendas for Action against Climate Change and Biodiversity Erosion, as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063, said the official, speaking at the ministerial meeting of the WestMed Stakeholders’ Conference.
At national level, the Kingdom has laid the groundwork for a coherent vision that integrates the foundations of the blue economy into the various national policies and strategies, namely the Halieutis Strategy for the development of the maritime fishing and aquaculture sector since 2010, the New Development Model, the 2030 Port Strategy and the 2030 National Sustainable Development Strategy, he added.
According to the Minister, the Halieutis strategy for the development of the marine fisheries and aquaculture sector has made a significant contribution to strengthening the technical and financial resources allocated to scientific research in this field, and increasing performance in terms of environmental surveillance and monitoring of fishery resources, to guarantee sustainable management of marine ecosystems and fishery resources, 95% of which are managed by management plans.
In addition, the tourism, maritime transport and port logistics sectors have made significant progress in terms of development at national level, enabling a clear improvement in the country’s maritime connectivity indicators, thanks in particular to the exceptional achievements recorded in recent years by the country’s ports, notably Tangier-MED, noted Sadiki.
Convinced of the crucial importance of a governance system capable of establishing a policy and management dialogue between the entities involved in blue activities, the Kingdom of Morocco has just set up an Interministerial Commission, chaired by the Head of Government, for the development of the blue economy, whose mission is to ensure the coherence of national projects and programs, and to rule on major decisions aimed at the development of the blue economy as a whole, he recalled.
With regard to the WestMED initiative, the Minister pointed out that Morocco was actively involved in the first phase of activities carried out within this framework, which covered a range of themes including maritime spatial planning, coastal tourism, port development and aquaculture.
