The inaugural Commonwealth Ocean Ministers Meeting is held in Paphos, Cyprus, on Friday, under the theme “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.
The aim of the Summit is 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. An opening reception took place on Thursday evening.
The opening of the Meeting will be addressed, among others, by the Commonwealth Secretary – General Patricia Scotland and Cyprus Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Maria Panagiotou, and Deputy Minister of Shipping, Marina Hadjimanolis.
Moreover, the Commonwealth and the Republic of Cyprus will sign a Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of a Blue Charter Centre of Excellence in Cyprus.
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”, i.e two-thirds globally.
Source: Cyprus News Agency