The event brought together representatives from ministries, public institutions, the private sector, technical and financial partners, as well as researchers and experts.
Roadmap: Meeting as part of the Blue Lab II, the Ministry of Economy and Finance through the Blue Economy Development Program Management Unit brought together the main public and private actors to consolidate this roadmap, developed with the support of the World Bank. Focused on the sustainable valorisation of marine resources, the strategy aims to make the Kingdom an Atlantic hub of reference, while stimulating investment, innovation and sustainable growth. The recommendations resulting from this consultation will be integrated before the presentation of the final document to the competent Interministerial Commission.
Morocco is taking a new step in the development of its blue economy. The Ministry of Economy and Finance, through the Blue Economy Development Program Management Unit, brought together all stakeholders at Blue Lab II, a consultation meeting dedicated to the finalization of the National Blue Economy Strategy (SNEB). The event brought together representatives from ministries, public institutions, the private sector, technical and financial partners, as well as researchers and experts. Organized as part of the Results Program « Development of the Blue Economy in Morocco », supported by the World Bank since 2022, this event marks a new stage in a consultation process that has been underway for more than four years. This has given rise to numerous diagnoses, sectoral studies, territorial consultations and participatory workshops in order to provide the Kingdom with an integrated vision for the sustainable enhancement of its maritime and coastal heritage. According to the organizers, the Blue Lab II has gone beyond the simple framework of a restitution workshop. It made it possible to present the consolidated version of the SNEB, to collect the latest recommendations from the various actors and to strengthen the consensus on the guidelines that will guide public policy in the coming years, before the presentation of the strategy to the competent national governance bodies.
The result of more than four years of work, the National Strategy for the Blue Economy has the ambition to make the ocean a lever for sustainable prosperity, competitiveness, sovereignty and resilience in the service of the development of the Kingdom. At the heart of this vision is the concept of Atlantic Ocean Economic Hub, which aims to capitalize on the Atlantic facade of Morocco, its port infrastructures, its coastal territories and its opening to Africa, Europe and the Americas to position the Kingdom as an international reference platform in trade, investment, innovation and value chains of the blue economy. The exchanges also focused on the five strategic axes of the SNEB, the sectoral trajectories to the horizon 2030-2040 as well as the development of Blue Finance, considered a major lever to accelerate the implementation of the strategy. In particular, the participants stressed the need to put in place innovative financing mechanisms to mobilize more public and private investment for a sustainable, competitive and value-creating blue economy.
In line with the guidelines of the New Development Model, the National Blue Economy Strategy aims to enhance a sector that represents nearly 3.8% of national GDP and 4.6% of employment. The recommendations from Blue Lab II will be integrated into the final version of the strategy before its review by the Interministerial Commission for the Development of the Blue Economy (CIDEB). This step will pave the way for the implementation of a national roadmap to strengthen sustainable growth, stimulate innovation and investment, while sustainably enhancing the Kingdom’s maritime and coastal potential. Supported by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Blue Economy Development Program supports the development and implementation of this strategy to promote growth based on the responsible exploitation of marine and coastal resources, the development of private investment, innovation and preservation of ecosystems.
