The Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Mohammed Sadiki, took part on Friday in Malta in the ministerial meeting of the conference of stakeholders of the WestMed initiative.
This initiative aims to support the sustainable development of the blue economy and strengthen its potential in the Mediterranean region by promoting the improvement of maritime governance and creating an environment conducive to the promotion of employment and innovation, indicates a press release from the supervisory department.
Speaking on this occasion, the Minister highlighted Morocco’s coherent vision which integrates the foundations of the blue economy into the various national policies and strategies, as well as its commitment to promote the key sectors of the blue economy, in particular through the development of sustainable practices in the fishing and aquaculture sectors and coastal tourism initiatives that respect the marine environment.
He also recalled the Kingdom’s commitment to renewable energies for the sustainable management of maritime activities.
Sadiki an, furthermore, took this opportunity to outline the activities carried out by the Kingdom within the framework of the WestMed Initiative, such as the implementation of the Blue Belt Initiative (BBI), the establishment of Marine Protected Areas , aquaculture capacity building and marine spatial planning. These concrete actions demonstrate the country’s continued commitment to promoting the blue economy and testify to its willingness to actively contribute to the regional initiative.
It should be noted that the Conference adopted the Malta declaration for the development of the blue economy in the Western Mediterranean region. The text represents a collective commitment to regional cooperation and the sustainable development of the blue economy, while preserving marine ecosystems.
On the sidelines of his participation in this conference, the Minister held a bilateral meeting with the Director General of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MARE) at the European Commission, Charlina Vitcheva, focused on strengthening relations and new opportunities for collaboration. as part of the blue economy.
As a reminder, the Westmed initiative launched by the European Commission at the beginning of 2016 brings together 10 Mediterranean countries, namely Algeria, Spain, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Mauritania, Portugal and Tunisia.