Communiqué of the Africa Blue Economy Week 2025
1. The 2nd edition of the Africa Blue Economy Week (ABEW), was held on 23rd to 25th September 2025 at the African Union (AU) Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The event was co-organized by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and brought together over 70 Participants drawn from:
➢ Member States: Angola, Burundi, Djibouti, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Uganda
➢ Regional Economic Communities (RECs): The Arab Maghreb Union, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the Economic Community of Central African States, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and the Southern African Development Community
➢ Intergovernmental Organizations: The Benguela Current Convention, the Gulf of Guinea Commission, and the Indian Ocean Commission
➢ Civil Society Organization: The Global Water Partnership Southern Africa
➢ Research Institution: The Institute for Security Studies
➢ Private Sector representatives: Maritimafrica, Green United Development, Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics
➢ UN Agencies: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Economic Commission for Africa
➢ AU specialised unit: The AU InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources
➢ AUC Department : Political Affairs, Peace and Security
➢ Bilateral Partners: The European Union, Japan, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
2. Convened under the theme “From Pledges to Stronger Partnerships”, ABEW 2025 provided a platform to accelerate the development, sustainability, inclusivity, prosperity, and resilience of Africa’s Blue Economy. The conference built on the achievements of the Decade of African Seas and Oceans (2015–2025) and the outcomes of the inaugural ABEW in 2024.
3. The ABEW 2025 discussed the issues of effective policy harmonization and coordination in the blue economy, where participants recognized the need to strengthen coordination at national, regional and continental levels for effective implementation of strategic blue economy frameworks. Particularly, participants emphasized the need to align national and regional policies and strategies to the overarching Africa Blue Economy Strategy, mainstream national blue economy strategies and to complement frameworks with action plans, resource mobilization plans, and cross-sectoral governance mechanisms. They called for enhanced
institutional capacity, awareness raising and knowledge sharing.
4. The ABEW participants welcomed the Africa Blue Economy Data Dashboard, as a critical tool for evidence-based decision making. They recommended to start its operationalization with pilots and link it to existing data systems to avoid duplication.
5. Participants emphasized the urgency of sustainable financing of Africa’s Blue Economy, calling for creating an enabling environment for private investment. They urged innovative public–private partnerships, de-risking mechanisms, and stronger valuation of Africa’s blue capital to attract sustainable investments. Participants further called on research institutions and development partners to provide technical support for resource valuation and preparation of viable pipelines.
6. Private sector engagement was recognized as a cornerstone of transformation, with the African Continental Free Trade Area highlighted as a key driver of inter-regional trade and market expansion. Participants emphasised the role of women, youth, local communities, and the informal blue economy, urging support to shift from grant-dependency to asset creation and visibility of investable opportunities.
7. Participants underscored the importance of strategic communication and visibility to accelerate Africa’s Blue Economy transformation. Effective communication was highlighted as essential to: raise awareness of the value of ocean and aquatic resources; showcase Africa’s leadership in innovation and partnerships; link micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises and community enterprises to regional and global markets; and build trust among investors.
8. The ABEW 2025 participants proposed to strengthen partnerships through regional multistakeholder mechanisms for bridging data gaps, prompting collective action, mobilizing financing, and harmonizing policy and regulations. When done effectively, participants recognized its value for strategic decision-making, generating political will and buy-in, mobilization of resources, and boosting trade and economic activity.
9. The participants of ABEW 2025 welcomed the entry into force of the High Seas Treaty under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Treaty) with the ratification by Morocco and Sierra Leone on the 19th September 2025. With this, participants reaffirmed Africa’s important role in shaping ocean governance and the need to accelerate the signing and ratification of the treaty and participate in its implementation for African countries to collectively exploit the potential it presents. Also, participants called for
increased awareness raising on the Lomé Charter to accelerate its ratification.
10. The Conference concluded by reaffirming the importance of partnerships and collective action as the engine of Africa’s Blue Renaissance. Participants called for a more inclusive and coordinated approach to data sharing, policy harmonization, sustainable natural resources management, private sector engagement, innovative finance, strategic communications, and regional cooperation.
11. The ABEW 2025 participants appreciated the opportunity to come together and discuss the progress, issues, opportunities and future perspectives around the African Blue Economy. Looking ahead, participants recommended that the 3rd edition of ABEW in 2026 be structured as both a technical meeting and a high-level ministerial conference, to consolidate technical progress, galvanise political leadership, and communicate Africa’s vision for the Blue Economy globally.
