Courtesy and working visit by members of the Executive Secretariat to His Excellency the Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Morocco.

July 17, 2025, Rabat, (Morocco)

During this session, both parties committed cooperation ties between the two institutions and working to achieve the objectives of ocean and fisheries sustainability, preservation of the marine ecosystem, blue transformation, support for the development of aquaculture and the circular economy, support for technological innovation, mitigation of the effects of climate change through the adaptation of fisheries policies and decarbonization, strengthening of scientific research and maritime training.

Also, emphasis was placed on the role played by ATLAFCO in supporting its Member States in implementing the provisions of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), strengthening mechanisms to combat IUU fishing, accession to the International Treaty for the Protection of the High Seas and Marine Biodiversity or Agreement (BBNJ) by all its Member States and, more generally, accession to any relevant international instrument aimed at contributing to better ocean governance, in the spirit of the Abidjan Declaration adopted on April 24, 2025 by the 11th Ordinary Session of the ATLAFCO Conference of Ministers.

It was also an opportunity to highlight the importance of consolidating regional support for effective and targeted capacity building in the countries of the region, as well as the relevant role ATLAFCO, for the achievement of sustainable development, as highlighted in target 17.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.