The Minister of Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries, Lídia Cardoso, participated on Wednesday, May 18, in a virtual round-table from the city of Quelimane, called “On the way to the 2nd Oceans Conference of the United Nations Lisbon-2020”.
The meeting was attended by the Minister, the Secretary of State for the Sea and the Portuguese Ambassador in Mozambique, José Maria Costa and António Costa Moura, respectively, the Kenyan High Commissioner in our country, Dorcas Bungei and the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations office in Mozambique, Myrta Kaulard.
Intervening in what had as theme “Opportunities and Challenges of the Blue Economy Development in Mozambique”, Lídia Cardoso said she understood that the oceans conference is a fundamental platform for sharing experiences and fomenting partnerships and investments in science, which will allow to mitigate the degradation of the marine environment and to identify opportunities for the development of the Blue Economy.
In this context, regional platforms such as the ‘Growing Blue’ international conference contribute to building a common vision in the region regarding the sustainable use of the shared resource to accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 14.
“The ‘Crescendo Azul’ is a clear demonstration that Mozambique is on the global route to promote ocean governance and development of the Blue Economy,” she said, adding that our country can be a strategic partner of the United Nations and Portugal in promoting the 2nd conference on the oceans, as well as a stage for regional concertation to accelerate SDG14.
The minister revealed that Mozambique and Kenya, a country that has also boosted the Blue Economy in Africa, intend to co-organize a side event during the Lisbon conference to disseminate the actions undertaken and the contribution to the implementation of the guiding instruments of the African Union, namely the African Blue Economy strategy towards achieving the United Nations Agenda 2030.
