Kenya Seals Cooperation Deal with Canada as Sustainable Blue Economy Conference Ends

Kenya is set to explore new partnerships with Canada in the maritime sector including maritime security.

The move follows the just concluded Sustainable Blue Economy Conference where a Canadian delegation led by Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard disclosed their willingness to explore new partnerships with Kenya.

The proposal was made when President Kenyatta held a meeting with the Canadian delegation.

President Kenyatta welcomed the offer for more partnership and further urged Canada to consider working with Kenya in developing the fishing sector, where Kenya has huge but untapped potential.

The President also held a meeting with Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation, Isabella Lövin, who also congratulated Kenya for convening and hosting the blue economy conference.

As the conference came to an end on Wednesday, President Kenyatta said that the conference would act as a stepping stone towards Africa realizing its potential in the blue economy.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has lauded the just concluded Nairobi conference as one that generated the right momentum for harnessing the enormous economic potential of the blue economy.

Speaking when he closed the historic three-day global Sustainable Blue Economy Conference at Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Nairobi, President Kenyatta said the conference provided an avenue for the world to make innovative and practical contributions to harness the full potential of oceans, seas, lakes and rivers and expand opportunities for all.

Kenyatta however, sounded the alarm bells over the unsustainable exploitation of the blue economy and called on the delegates to put long-term common interests above short-term selfish motivations.

President Kenyatta underscored the importance of harnessing the blue economy resources in a responsible manner, adding that some of the actions agreed upon at the conference included putting in place solid environmental standards, strengthening programmes to support poorer countries manage and recover from climate-related catastrophes and ensuring more effective control of Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing.

The conference committed to protect the ocean and coastal resources, help them regenerate, and to ensure they remain viable for the present and future generations.

The three-day Sustainable Blue Economy Conference, which started on November 26, was attended by several Heads of State and almost 18,000 delegates.

Kenya convened the conference and co-hosted it with Canada and Japan.