Rabat: The Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco organized a side event dedicated to Africa-Mediterranean-Europe cooperation for “Sustainable Ocean Governance” on the sidelines of the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC-3), taking place in Nice until June 13. The event, themed “Cooperation for Sustainable Ocean Governance Bringing Together Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe,” gathered key participants from these regions to foster a strengthened partnership based on the “Roadmap to 2030: Co-piloting the Africa-Europe Ocean Partnership.”

According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, the Executive Director of the Academy, Bachir Tamer, emphasized that the focus on this partnership, and more broadly on regional cooperation and South-South and North-South collaboration, is central to Morocco’s priorities under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. He referenced the significant message delivered by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, on behalf of the King, at the “Africa for the Ocean” Summit. This message, co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron, highlighted Morocco’s call for reassessing Africa’s maritime role through blue growth, enhanced South-South cooperation, regional integration around oceanic spaces, and effective maritime action via Atlantic synergies.

In alignment with the Royal message at UNOC, Abdelmalek Alaoui, president of the Moroccan Institute of Strategic Intelligence (IMIS), stressed the need to view the ocean not merely as a resource to be protected, but as an entity to be governed. Alaoui addressed a roundtable on “Governance Facing the Challenges of the Blue Economy in Africa,” highlighting three main challenges hindering African ocean governance: fragmented and non-inclusive governance, a lack of technological and informational sovereignty, and the absence of coordinated blue diplomacy.

Alaoui, along with other participants, advocated for enhancing research and science through public-private partnerships and interdisciplinary approaches to aid African nations in tackling ocean challenges. He emphasized the importance of utilizing open data for policy-making, and recommended training and capacity-building, particularly involving youth and local actors, to bolster efforts in ocean governance.