The African Legal Support Facility (ALSF), in partnership with the African Natural Resources Centre of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has organised a regional seminar on negotiating fishing agreements and concessions for francophone countries
According to AfDB, illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing represents US$1.2bn loss in revenue for West African countries alone, mainly due to inadequate governance in the sector. The seminar addressed the growing awareness among African countries and regional bodies dedicated to maritime economy, of the need to strengthen capacity in the regional fishing sector.
The first of the two workshops took place at AfDB’s headquarters in Abidjan from 14-19 May 2018.
The workshop advanced the ALSF’s mission to build sustainable legal capacity in Africa, in synergy with AfDB’s High 5 priorities of Feeding Africa and Improving the Quality of Life in Africa.
Micheline Schummer Gnandji, director-general of fisheries and aquaculture of Gabon, underscored the essence of the workshop, noting that it enabled participants to share experiences and competencies for successful negotiation of deals in the sector.
“We are hoping to have more of these capacity building workshops, they are essential for Africa to move forward,” she added.
The ALSF is an international organisation hosted by the AfDB. The facility provides legal advice and technical assistance to African countries in their negotiation of complex commercial transactions, creditor litigation and other related sovereign transactions.
