Atlantic African States Series Concludes with Adoption of "Praia Declaration"

Praia, Cape Verde – The Fifth Ministerial Meeting of the Atlantic African States Series concluded today, Thursday, with the adoption of the “Praia Declaration.” This declaration reaffirmed the commitment of member states within this framework to continue implementing the Atlantic African Partnership and to consult for the promotion of peace, stability, and shared prosperity in the region.

According to the text of the declaration, the participating ministers at this meeting noted the convening of the meeting of Speakers of Parliaments of the member states of the Atlantic African States Series last February.

The declaration emphasized that the Speakers of Parliaments, during their meeting, expressed their political will to strengthen the Atlantic African cooperation series.

The ministers, for their part, commended the conference organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, in collaboration with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Programme, on January 9th and 10th in Rabat. This conference addressed terrorism and maritime security along the Atlantic African coasts. The final statement pointed out that this conference, which focused on new and emerging technologies, “allowed for the exchange of experiences between the countries of our partnership as well as with other national and international actors.”

The ministers affirmed that they had taken note of the implementation report of the Atlantic African States Series, which identifies the actions taken to implement the partnership and provides recommendations related to its operationalization, which were included in this ministerial declaration.

The report was discussed by the focal points of the member states during their remote meeting held on April 24th.

The same source added that the ministers took note of the recommendations of the implementation report regarding the organization of sectoral meetings through the involvement of various ministerial sectors of the member states, similar to the meeting of Ministers of Justice, with the aim of accelerating the implementation of the Atlantic African States Series, considering that these sectoral meetings play a crucial role in enhancing the implementation of the series.

It also concerns encouraging member states to create national coordination mechanisms, with the aim of undertaking coordinated action at the implementation level within and between the countries of the series, and integrating aquaculture-related measures into action plans, given the potential of this sector to contribute to food security and job creation in the countries of the series.

The declaration also called for the follow-up of these recommendations at the next ministerial meeting.

It is recalled that the Atlantic African States Series brings together African countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean with the aim of strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development.