5th Atlantic African States Process Ministerial Meeting Adopts Praia Declaration

According to the Declaration, ministers participating in this fifth AASP session, held in the capital city of Cape Verde, welcomed the meeting of the Speakers of the Parliaments of the Atlantic African States, which took place in Rabat last February.

Through their meeting, the leaders of parliaments expressed their political will to strengthen the Atlantic African cooperation process, the Declaration emphasizes.

The ministers also welcomed the organization of the conference hosted by Morocco's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, in collaboration with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), on terrorism and maritime security along the Atlantic coasts of Africa, held in Rabat on January 9-10, 2025.

Focusing on emerging new technologies, this conference served as a platform for exchanging experiences among partner states, as well as with other national and international stakeholders, the document notes.

The ministers acknowledged the first Implementation Report of the AASP, included in the documentation, which outlines the actions undertaken to implement the partnership and provides recommendations on implementation, reflected in the present Ministerial Declaration.

This report was discussed by the Focal Points of the member states during their virtual meeting held on April 24, 2025.

The ministers also took note of the recommendations from the implementation report concerning the organization of sectoral meetings involving the various ministries of member states, such as the Meeting of Ministers of Justice, to accelerate the implementation of the AASP. These sectoral meetings are considered to play a crucial role in enhancing the effectiveness of the Process, the same source adds.

The Declaration also calls for encouraging member states to establish national coordination mechanisms to enable harmonized action within and among Process countries, and to incorporate aquaculture-related initiatives into action plans, given the sector's potential contribution to food security and job creation in member states.

The Declaration further advocates for follow-up on these recommendations at the next ministerial meeting.