đź“· Photo: African Union Commission
Seychelles joined more than 450 delegates from at least ten African countries for the Third Africa Blue Economy Week and High-Level Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Luanda, Angola, against the backdrop of the adoption of the Luanda Declaration on the African Blue Economy. The conference, which ran from 22 to 25 July under the theme “From Strategy to Action: Political Leadership for Africa’s Blue Economy Transformation”, was co-hosted by the Government of Angola, the African Union Commission and the United Nations Development Programme, as the African Union reported on 24 July.
Minister for Fisheries, Agriculture and the Blue Economy Wallace Cosgrow led Seychelles’ delegation, joining peers from across the continent to align behind a common roadmap to operationalise the African Union Blue Economy Strategy and Agenda 2063 goals. The conference’s structure moved from technical sessions to ministerial roundtables with regional economic communities, financial institutions, the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat and the African Continental Free Trade Area, before closing with the high-level ministerial segment and the Declaration.
The Luanda Declaration sets out five core commitments for African Union member states, including the domestication of the African Union Blue Economy Strategy into national legislation, plans and budgets by 2028, the establishment of sustainable blue financing mechanisms by 2027 (national blue funds, blue bonds, blue insurance, debt-for-nature instruments and blended finance), the creation of national blue-economy accounting and data systems, the reduction of marine pollution at source, and coordinated action to end illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, the African Union Commission published in the Declaration text.
The Declaration also establishes a Permanent Ministerial Platform on the African Blue Economy, supported by the African Union Commission’s Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, mandates the production of a Continental Implementation Roadmap 2026 to 2030, and fixes the Africa Blue Economy Week on a biennial rotation across all African Union member states. The Southern African Development Community emphasised the same set of priorities in its post-conference read-out, framing the blue economy as a key driver of growth and regional integration, according to SADC on 25 July.
For Seychelles, the timing of the Luanda meeting has been unusually busy. Less than 48 hours after the conference closed, Minister Cosgrow signed a new four-year Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement protocol with European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis in Brussels on 27 July, securing European Union fleet access to Seychelles waters for 55,000 tonnes of tuna and migratory species per year, backed by an annual European Union contribution of 5.7 million euros, the European Commission confirmed on 27 July.
The continental approach matters for small island states like Seychelles in particular because the Declaration explicitly recognises the sovereign rights of coastal, riparian and island states over their aquatic resources within a spirit of continental solidarity, and binds members to equitable inclusion of women, youth, coastal communities, small-scale fishers and indigenous peoples. The Permanent Ministerial Platform gives small states a permanent seat at the table where the agenda is set, and the African Blue Economy Scientific Panel will report on delivery ahead of a mid-term review in 2028 and a comprehensive stocktake in 2030.
Sources cited: African Union, 24 July 2026, “AU Member States adopt Luanda Declaration to accelerate Africa’s blue economy” (https://au.int/en/pressrelease/au-member-states-adopt-luanda-declaration-accelerate-africas-blue-economy); Southern African Development Community, 25 July 2026, “SADC emphasises Blue Economy as key driver of growth at the 3rd Africa Blue Economy Week 2026” (https://www.sadc.int/latest-news/sadc-emphasises-blue-economy-key-driver-growth-3rd-africa-blue-economy-week-2026); African Union, 24 July 2026, “Luanda Declaration on the African Blue Economy” (https://au.int/en/pressrelease/luanda-declaration-african-blue-economy); European Commission DG MARE, 27 July 2026, “European Union and Seychelles renew agreement granting EU fishing vessels access to Seychelles’ waters” (https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/news/european-union-and-seychelles-renew-agreement-granting-eu-fishing-vessels-access-seychelles-waters-2026-07-27_en).
