Port Sudan, February 28, 2023 (SUNA) – The national strategy for the blue economy (2023-2027) was approved today at the Coral Hotel in Port Sudan, capital of the Red Sea State, where the ministers signed the national strategy for the blue economy in Sudan during the closing session of the strategy review and approval workshop, affirming their commitment to mobilizing Domestic and external resources for the full implementation of the strategy in Sudan.
The strategy was signed by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, the Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, the Minister of Agriculture and Forests, the Minister of Transport, and the Undersecretary of Livestock.
During the closing sessions of the workshop for reviewing and approving the national strategy for the blue economy, the Minister of Finance and Strategic Planning stressed that the national strategy aims to develop a vision of exploiting water activities, and raise awareness of its importance in order to diversify the sources of the national economy and achieve sustainable development goals, indicating that the blue economy is one of the most important programs of the federal government. And the Ministry of Finance with regard to achieving the goals of sustainable development. Stressing the need for all relevant ministries and sectors to cooperate to implement the strategic plans for their role in developing the national economy through the development of water-related activities.
For his part, Daw Al-Bayt Abdel Rahman, the Acting Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, stressed the importance of implementing strategic projects to support water harvesting and water generation projects, and irrigation projects. To make the most of the country’s water resources. He also praised the strategy for providing job opportunities, which contributes to solving women’s problems and youth unemployment.
In the same context, Mr. Abu Bakr Al-Bushra, the Acting Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, indicated that the strategy is linked to the plans and programs of his ministry for the green economy, stressing the importance of the strategy in creating job opportunities for women, youth and people with disabilities, which has an impact on development and the preservation of sustainable resources.
Mr. Hisham Abu Zeid, Minister of Transport in charge, stressed the importance of the strategy in enhancing Sudan’s maritime capabilities by increasing the capacity of the ports, and establishing new ports to implement development plans that would make Sudanese ports the main controller of trade across the Red Sea. And he stressed the need to link the strategic plans with the plans and programs of the ministries in order to implement the strategic projects.
For his part, Dr. Othman Beleil, representative of the IGAD mission, thanked the ministers, pointing to the importance of implementing blue economy plans in Sudan to achieve regional integration, stressing IGAD’s commitment to developing its cooperation with Sudan in this field, to achieve Africa’s aspirations for sustainable development in the context of the African Union’s Agenda 20