Portugal successfully hosted first Ministerial Meeting of countries participating in Atlantic Strategy

The 10th Edition of the Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference took place on 18 and 19 October in Porto, Portugal. Three years after the launch of the Atlantic Action Plan 2.0 – A New Approach to the Atlantic Maritime Strategy (AAP 2.0), the Conference, as in previous years, provided  the Atlantic Community the opportunity to review the progress and achievements made so far regarding AAP 2.0 objectives and blue economy challenges in the Atlantic Sea Basin.

The AAP 2.0 also has a strong international dimension, notably through participation in the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance. With the theme "Atlantic Future: New synergies and innovations for a sustainable Ocean Economy” this year’s conference therefore aimed to assemble traditional stakeholders as well as new ones from the other side of the Atlantic to discuss future cooperation on blue economy, investment, innovation and sustainability. Special focus has been given to the identification and promotion of synergies.

Atlantic Project Awards

The Atlantic Project Awards Ceremony closed the stakeholder conference. The Atlantic Project Awards feature outstanding initiatives, successful collaborations and achievements relevant to the implementation of the Atlantic Action Plan 2.0. This year, five awards were granted as recognition of the projects’ outstanding performance,​​ in the five award categories (Atlantic Ports, Blue Skills and Ocean Literacy, Marine Renewable Energy, Healthy Oceans and ​Resilient ​Coasts, International Cooperation) which are in line with the Pillars of the Atlantic Action Plan 2.0.

D3 Project Adviser Julia Beile followed the organisation of the event closely, being responsible for the Assistance Mechanism for the Atlantic Action Plan.

Ministerial Meeting

For the very first time the Portuguese Presidency organised a Ministerial Meeting of the four Atlantic countries back-to-back with the ASPC. In the morning of 18 October high-level representatives from France, Ireland, Spain and Portugal met and agreed to continue cooperating on the implementation of the AAP 2.0 in an integrative and transversal approach to promote complementarity between its pillars with a view to making progress towards its set goals.