News

Kenya eyes deals at global blue economy meet

juma

Foreign Affairs Secretary Monica Juma. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Kenya hopes to bag high-profile deals and learn from rich countries as it prepares to host its first international conference on the blue economy later this year.

A number of heads of states and governments as well as more than 200 ministers are among the 6,000 delegates expected at the three-day event which begins on November 26.

“We see an opportunity in government to government partnerships to learn from states such as Norway and Finland which have embedded the blue economy in their systems,” Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Macharia Kamau said Tuesday during a media briefing in Nairobi.

“We also expect a number of business to business partnerships after the conference.”

The ministry estimates the cost of hosting the event at Sh800 million. Of the key sponsors, Canada and Portugal have already released Sh200 million and Sh5 million respectively.

Mr Kamau said other countries, international organisations, NGOs and the private sector have been invited to co-sponsor the event adding that the taxpayer will be asked to foot the extra bill. The event, under the theme Blue Economy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, seeks to focus Kenya’s attention on emerging technologies and innovation that it can use to exploit wealth in its portion of the Indian Ocean, lakes and rivers.

According to the State Department in charge of maritime affairs, Kenya’s portion of the Indian Ocean has potential for industrial fisheries, aquaculture, marine tourism, transport, container repair and cleaning, ship-building and repair, coastal and inland shipping, bio-prospecting energy and sand-seabed mining.

Mr Macharia said Kenya has been increasingly shifting its attention to its water resources as climate change continues to undermine its investments on land such as roads and railway lines.

“There is need to tap into the productive capacity of our water resources and empower communities in a sustainable way even as we build an inclusive economy,” he said.