May 12, 2025 (Nairobi, Kenya): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), through its Blue Economy Project and with the support of the Government of Sweden via the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), convened a three-day Validation Workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, from 12–14 May 2025. The workshop brought together key experts and stakeholders to review and validate the draft national and regional synthesis reports assessing Blue Economy (BE) institutional capacity and expertise across the IGAD Member States.
The workshop is part of the broader IGAD project entitled Enhancing Blue Economy in the IGAD Member States for Biodiversity Conservation and Livelihood Diversification. This regional initiative aims to build knowledge and strengthen institutional capacity to promote inclusive, sustainable development of Blue Economy sectors.
Participants included representatives from BE sector ministries, academia, research and national planning institutions from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda. They collaborated with IGAD’s Blue Economy Project Management Unit and regional consultant to review the mapping exercise results, which chart the institutional landscape and expertise related to the Blue Economy within the region.
The studies, commissioned by IGAD, identified gaps and opportunities for institutional development, knowledge sharing, and capacity building within traditional and emerging Blue Economy sectors such as fisheries, maritime transport, coastal tourism, and aquatic biodiversity conservation.
In his welcoming remarks, Dr Eshete Dejen, Programme Manager of the Sustainable Environment Protection Unit at IGAD’s Agriculture and Environment Division, speaking on behalf of the Director of the Division, Mr Daher Elmi, highlighted the strategic significance of the validation workshop.
“The Blue Economy project has laid the groundwork for regional cooperation and policy coherence across Member States. Through this validation process, we ensure that our institutional capacities are mapped, setting a firm foundation for targeted capacity development and sustainable exploitation of our Blue resources. We extend our sincere appreciation to the Government of Sweden for its continued support of IGAD’s regional initiatives,” said Dr Eshete, Programme Manager for IGAD Sustainable Environment Protection Unit. The workshop was officially opened by a delegate from the State Department of Blue Economy and Fisheries of Kenya.
The workshop was officially opened by Mr. Samuel Mukindia, the Director for Planning at the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs of the Republic of Kenya. On behalf of the Government, he welcomed the participants to the Republic of Kenya and to the validation workshop.
The workshop concluded with the validation of national and regional reports, the identification of key capacity development priorities, and recommendations for enhancing institutional frameworks, especially in the BE research and academia sectors capacities in the region.
This milestone reflects IGAD’s commitment to fostering resilient and sustainable Blue Economy governance, paving the way for increased regional collaboration and implementation of national strategies aligned with the IGAD Blue Economy Strategy (2021–2025).
