Zanzibar, 23 May 2023 – H.E. Hon. Othman Masoud Othman, First Vice President of Zanzibar opened the IORA’s 9 th IORA Indian Ocean Dialogue (IOD), which was held in Zanzibar, Tanzania, on 22-23 May 2023. The IOD was attended by around 150 participants, including from 14 Member States and 5 Dialogue Partners.
The Dialogue saw the participation of government, academics, think-tank, and international organizations from throughout Indian Ocean region, who were all gathered on the same platform to explore opportunities for advancing blue growth in the Indian Ocean region.
“Our coastal and island states of the Indian Ocean Basin resonate on key IORA priorities in promoting and strengthening our collective blue economy aspirations, as well as addressing the regional ocean governance strategy,” said the First Vice President of Zanzibar.
The First Vice President of Zanzibar also emphasized that the IOD under the theme: “Innovation in blue economy and its role in GDP contribution” is a critically important dialogue process, which is in alignment with the Global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In his welcoming speech, Mr Suleiman Masoud Makame, Minister for Bule Economy and Fisheries of Zanzibar emphasized on the importance of strengthening collaboration with relevant stakeholders in meeting the SDG targets, including SDG14.
The Minister pointed out that “This event provides us with a new momentum, in addressing our blue economy aspirations, including the opportunities, gaps, the challenges, post Covid-19 recovery efforts, our blue future, and the commitments”. This 9th IOD comprised of 5 sessions that focus on the following topics: (i) Making the Case for Blue Economy Dialogue; (ii) Ocean Governance and Blue Economy; (iii) Marine Biotechnology, Research and Development; (iv) Advancing the Blue Economy Agenda in IORA; and (v) Financing Blue Economy in IORA.
The interactive sessions during the Dialogue enabled speakers and participants to openly discuss, share experiences and success stories of the region. The 9th IOD adopted the Zanzibar Consensus, which contains a set of policy recommendations to advance blue economy sector in the Indian Ocean region.
The document was built from the key takeaways of each session and inputs from the IORA Member States.
“The Zanzibar Document serves as a reference for the Governments and various stakeholders in the Indian Ocean Region to bring Blue Economy to the next level” said Rina Setyawati, the Director for Blue Economy, and Fisheries Management of the IORA Secretariat. Indian Ocean Dialogue is a Track 1.5 Dialogue that brings together key stakeholders from governments and think tanks from all Member States and the Dialogue Partners of the IORA, including participants, scholars, experts, analysts, and policymakers from governments, research institutions, civil society and other relevant stakeholders to discuss on strategic issues and emerging challenges affecting the IOR.
To read the Zanzibar Consensus, click on the following link : /media/24463/zanzibar-consensus-iod-2023.pdf
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