President Faure delivers keynote address at Blue Economy Event
Aside from attending the United Nation’s General Assembly (UNGA), President Faure was given the honor of delivering the keynote address at the meeting of ACP group of nations, themed ‘Ocean Governance and ACP Small Island Developing States: Harnessing the Blue Economy’. This event was conjointly organized by the ACP group and Seychelles to share their experiences in harnessing the potential of the Blue Economy.
As a group, the combined EEZs of the ACP nations is by far the largest ecosystem on the planet and as noted by President Faure, this vast expanse of the maritime territory has the potential to transform SIDS into ‘large ocean nations’.
One of the key points raised by President Faure was “how do we harness the potential of our ocean wealth in a sustainable and responsible way for the benefit of all our people?”
“Seychelles’ Blue Economy has developed an integrated approach to ocean-based sustainable development that brings together the three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental and social. This is informally known under corporate sustainability as ‘people, planet and profits’,” said the President.
The President also highlighted the important role of civil society in championing the cause of the Blue Economy. He spoke of various youth-led non-governmental organisations in Seychelles and their important efforts to raise awareness and combat marine pollution.
He thanked all of the ACP members for their hard work in implementing goal 14 of the sustainable development goals (to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources), which was a defining factor in elaborating both the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. “Today, oceans, climate and sustainable development are firmly on the global agenda, and we should seize every opportunity to keep the momentum going,” said President Faure.
