The African Union has identified Blue Economy (BE) development as a priority goal towards achieving the aspiration on ‘A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development within the context of the Africa Union Agenda 2063’. Africa’s Blue Economy can be a major contributor to continental transformation, sustainable economic progress, and social development. Africa’s Blue Economy Strategy, launched under the theme “Developing a sustainable blue economy; increasing momentum for Africa’s Blue Growth”, envisions an inclusive and sustainable blue economy that significantly contributes to the continent’s transformation and growth. The objective of the Africa Blue Economy Strategy is to guide the development of an inclusive and sustainable blue economy that becomes a significant contributor to continental transformation and growth, through advancing knowledge on marine and aquatic biotechnology, environmental sustainability, the growth of Africa-wide shipping industry, the development of sea, river and lake transport, the management of fishing activities on these aquatic spaces, and the exploitation and beneficiation of deep-sea minerals and other resources.

With the financial support of Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), within the framework of the project entitled: Enhancing Blue Economy in the IGAD Member States for Biodiversity Conservations and Livelihood Diversification, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has developed a 5-year Blue Economy strategy (2021 – 2025) and Implementation Plan (BESIP), aligned with Africa’s Blue Economy strategy and adopted on April 1, 2022, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The vision of IGAD’s Blue Economy strategy is to develop an inclusive and sustainable Blue Economy that significantly contributes to the Horn of Africa’s transformation. It recognizes the region’s rich resources from marine and inland water bodies. IGAD’s efforts in promoting the blue economy focus on enhancing food security, economic growth, and poverty reduction by sustainably harnessing BE resources and services of water bodies.

Objectives

The IGAD region has a wealth of knowledge and experiences in different sectors of BE. However, documentation and dissemination of the region’s experiences are limited. Blue Economy is a relatively new concept for Africa where we can learn within and from outside the Continent. The planned share fair will help in this regard by strengthening the IGAD Secretariat’s knowledge management unit to ensure it is accessible to all member states and BE stakeholders.

Then the best practices will be disseminated at different platforms. Knowledge management will include products on gender equity and women empowerment in the BE sectors. The event will also enhance knowledge dissemination through the regional dialogue platforms

In this regard, the share fair seeks to:

• Share success stories and good practices in the BE areas
• Share ideas for improving work processes, operation, quality, and cost effectiveness, etc.
• Share knowledge with other organizations involved in similar activities
• Improve decision making and performance and help future projects avoid similar difficulties
• Influence policy decisions related to the development and implementation of future Blue Economy projects.

Theme
“Investing in Blue Economy for Regional Integration”

Panel Discussion Topics
(1) Private Sector role in BE (AUDA-NEPAD)
(2) Biodiversity and Ecosystems (AU-IBAR)
(3) Sustainable Blue Tourism (UNECA)
(4) Blue Economy and Regional Integration (IGAD)
(5) Financing Blue Economy (AfDB)
(6) Blue Economy and Climate Change (IGAD)

• Exhibition: Exhibitions will be held to showcase the outputs of different regional projects, and this will be an opportunity to disseminate knowledge products.
• Plenary and Parallel sessions: To increase opportunities for intra- and inter-regional knowledge exchanges; parallel sessions with Power Point presentations will be conducted followed by discussions.
• Panel Discussion and field visit: The last day will be dedicated for panel discussion on selected thematic areas takeaways (Investment and private sector engagement in BE Business, BE role in Regional Integration and next steps to enhance the contribution of Blue Economy). There will be a field visit in the coastal city of Djibouti, with its thriving maritime sector and rich marine resources and services.