Togo and the blue economy

Blue Innovation. On the 15th of October 2016, at the initiative of the African Union, African heads of state gathered at Lomé in Togo for an extraordinary summit on maritime safety and security and development in Africa. What were the results of this summit?

Robert Dussey. First of all, the stated goal of the Lomé Summit was to gather, under the auspices of the African Union, the governments of member states, regional economic communities and African and international institutions and organizations specialized in maritime issues, in order for them to discuss and find solutions to the challenges that the African maritime sector is facing.

Given this objective, the results achieved are very satisfactory, considering the fact that Lomé welcomed several thousand maritime experts who focused on various questions—notably the fight against piracy, IUU [illegal, unreported and unregulated] fishing, and the blue economy. Important recommendations were made during these exchanges, and are compiled in the final documents of the Lomé Summit. The latter are an important source of solutions to the various challenges that the African maritime sector is facing. The most precious of these results is of course the signature by 33 countries gathered at Lomé of the African Charter on Maritime Security and Safety and Development in Africa (the ‘Lomé Charter’). This charter is an important tool for the co-ordination of the efforts of different African states in the maritime sector, and is the first of its kind on the continent.