Video Speech by Mr. Mahatante, Minister for Fisheries and Blue Economy of Madagascar on China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation

Video Speech by Mr. Mahatante, Minister for Fisheries and Blue Economy of Madagascar on China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation

Kunming, Yunnan Province, China

21 November, 2022

Honorable Ministers,

Honorable Governors,

Honorable Delegates from all the western Indian Ocean countries,

Distinguished guest,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my honor and a great privilege to address to you today, to tell about the wish of Madagascar to develop the blue economy in our territory.

But before that, I would like to congratulate China for organizing this forum to let all of the Indian Ocean countries exchange knowledge, exchange our wish, exchange our projects to develop the blue economy.

So, Madagascar, we are among the very few countries in Africa that now have a blue economy strategy development, which means in just very few time, we have developed lot of documents to be able to plan and to coordinate all the efforts to develop the blue economy in Madagascar. Why? Just because Madagascar is an island, and as being an island, we are surrounded by the sea, and we also have the inland waters. So since we have the inland waters and we also have the sea, the blue economy is worth to be developed.

Therefore, we are seeking for opportunity. We are seeking for partnership. And China and the other countries within the Indian Ocean are all welcome to come to Madagascar, to discuss on how we're going to address food insecurity, to address employment, and to address poverty.

For us here in Madagascar, the blue economy is an opportunity for the government and the private sector to catalyze the economy. So our vision is to make the blue economy one of the main pillars for the emergence of Madagascar while protecting the ecosystems.

And why? Just because without the protection of the ecosystems, we won't be able to reach our goal to have what we call sustainable blue economy, just responsible. That is our goal, our final goal. We are working hand in hand with all partners, including the fishing communities, including the partners, including the private sectors, working in the field of fisheries.

But this current forum is going to be another opportunity for us, not only to let you know about this wish from Madagascar, but also to hear from you, to invite you to come and invest in Madagascar for a sustainable blue economy.

And before I wind up, I would like to emphasize the fact that there are many challenges in which we have to address. The challenge could be the climate change. The challenge could be the anthropogenic pressures, just like the bush fires, like the deforestation. Just because without water, there won't be any blue economy.

So that's why we have to fight to preserve the ecosystems, including forest, including marine ecosystems, such as the mangrove, such as coral reef, such as the sea grass and so on and so forth. We find this as an opportunity to call for support, for us to help one another. And to make the blue economy a real opportunity for all of us, for all our future and for the future generation.

Thank you so much.