Samoa to host 6th A.C.P. Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture meeting

28 September 2017, 12:00AM

Samoa will host the next Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific (A.C.P.) Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture meeting in 2019.

Returning home from the Bahamas after the 5th A.C.P Ministerial meeting last week, te Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Lopao’o Natanielu Mu’a, says winning the bid to host the event in two years time, falls in line with the Cabinet endorsement for international events to be staged in the country.

“Prime Minister Tuilaepa has time and again urged Cabinet Ministers to attract international meetings to Samoa because it translates to fresh revenues to our economy,” says Lopao’o.

In the Bahamas, one of the African countries had campaigned to host the 2019 event.  But they did not deliver when bids were called giving Samoa the sole rights to host the event.

As for the Ministerial gathering which takes place every two years, this year’s session centered on a range of issues such as:

• reinforcing shared commitments to improve governance boost development of fisheries and aquaculture resources in the areas of the implementation of the A.C.P. strategic plan of action for fisheries and aquaculture

• combating and eradicating Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (I.U.U.) fishing

• ensuring long-term sustainable use of fisheries resources optimizing benefits from fisheries and aquaculture under Blue Economy

• securing access to resources

• markets for small scale fisheries and aquaculture development, and fisheries subsidies.

The meeting also allowed the member countries to share regional good practices, deepen partnerships, and discuss priority issues for multilateral engagement.

M.A.F’s Chief Executive, Tilafono David Hunter, and Brussels-based Samoa Embassy Protocol Officer, Theresa Penn-Meredith, accompanied the Minister.

28 September 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>