Oyetola to participate in 3rd edition of Blue Economy conference
By Seun Ibiyemi
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola will be representing Nigeria at the third edition of the Blue Economy Conference (BEC2024), which is scheduled to take place in Dar es Salaam from July 4th to 5th.
According to the organisers – the Dar es Salaam Maritime Institute (DMI)- countries that are expected to participate in the conference are the Republic of Korea, Sweden and Nigeria.
Others are Kenya, Comoro, Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Denmark, Italy and China. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Dr Dotto Biteko is expected to grace the event.
The conference, which is organised by DMI in collaboration with the Regional Maritime University (RMU) in Accra, will be held under the theme ‘Navigating the Future: Integrating Maritime Safety and Security, Climate Change Actions and Technological Advancements for Blue Economy.’
DMI Director Dr Tumaini Gurumo told reporters on Friday that the conference’s major goal is to bring together international stakeholders to share ideas on promoting the blue economy to spearhead development across the continent.
“The international forum focuses on establishing a platform for capacity building and networking among stakeholders by tapping into prospects within the industry so as to outline the relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” she stressed.
Dr Gurumo said it aims to foster the blue economy aligned with maritime safety and security, climate change considerations and technological advancements.
She further added that the forum will also dwell on other issues such as sustainable exploitation and utilisation of blue economy resources, ship seaworthiness and on board-ship competency challenges, business models for the blue economy, and women in maritime sector.
Other areas are fishing industry and climate action policy and environmental protection are among basic areas in line.
During the forum, she said there will be discussions on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in maritime practices and the blue economy, renewable energy solutions for maritime transportation, information systems in maritime education and training.
Others are logistics, shipping and supply chains for the blue economy, climate-responsive maritime practices and coastal management, blue economy governance, law and policy as well as coastal and marine tourism development.
Recently, the RWU Acting Vice Chancellor, Regional Maritime Dr Jethro Brooks Jr said education institutions are committed to developing and transforming the economies across Africa by preparing the capacity building trainings.
He said training would enable young people to be equipped with skills, positioning them to drive the maritime sector.
