Cyprus will host the first Ministerial Summit of the Commonwealth entitled ‘Our Resilient Common Ocean: from Cyprus to Samoa’.
According to the organisers, the meeting will be attended by Ministers and senior officials from Commonwealth member states. Commonwealth Ministers responsible for oceans will meet to set the principles, priorities and actions for a Commonwealth Declaration on Oceans and agree on a roadmap that will pave the way for the adoption of the Declaration at CHOGM 2024 in Samoa.
The Ministerial Summit will take place in a hotel in Kouklia, Paphos. On April 18th senior officials of the Commonwealth states will meet for a preparatory meeting. The official opening of the Summit will take place the following day while a press conference will be held when the Summit concludes.
One-fifth of all maritime trade and one-fifth of seaports are within the Commonwealth. A total of 49 of the Commonwealth’s 56 member countries border the ocean and are home to 47% of the world’s coral reefs and 34% of its
mangrove forests. One third of the world’s marine waters are under national jurisdiction. A total of 25 of the 33 small Commonwealth states are small island developing states (SIDS) or “large ocean states”, ie two-thirds globally.
Source: Cyprus News Agency