en.Wedoany.com Reported - J. Cyrus Saygbe Sr., Director General of Liberia's National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), stated after concluding a week-long official working visit to the Kingdom of Morocco that the trip aimed to strengthen bilateral cooperation, attract investment, and advance the country's fisheries and aquaculture development agenda.
During the visit, Director General Saygbe delivered the opening address at the "Maritime Fisheries Safety Seminar" organized by the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation among African States Bordering the Atlantic Ocean (ATLAFCO) in Tangier. In his remarks, he emphasized the need to enhance regional coordination to improve maritime safety for fishers through a collective African approach. Following the seminar, the Director General traveled to Rabat and Casablanca for high-level meetings with Zakia Driouch, Morocco's Minister Delegate to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, in charge of Fisheries, and Hassan Sentissi El Idrissi, President of the Association of Moroccan Exporters (ASMEX).
The core discussions between the Liberian and Moroccan governments focused on cooperation in areas such as fisheries resource assessment, training of Liberian fisheries and aquaculture technicians, enhancement of fisheries value addition, and the construction of fishing ports. Both parties plan to formalize these commitments through a cooperation agreement expected to be signed in July 2026.
In meetings with representatives of the Moroccan private sector, the Director General explored opportunities for financing the construction of Liberia's first industrial fishing port and developing an industrial fishing fleet starting with two shrimp trawlers. Additionally, he met with representatives of Green Table, whose Chief Executive Officer clearly expressed interest in acting as a potential off-taker for Liberian captured fishery products, opening new prospects for market access and exports for the country's fisheries sector.
A key highlight of the visit was the inspection of Morocco's National Fisheries Monitoring Center, where Director General Saygbe focused on learning about the country's advanced vessel monitoring and fisheries surveillance systems used to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. This visit represents a concrete follow-up to commitments made at the Liberia Fisheries and Aquaculture Investment Conference held on March 30-31, 2026, and is part of broader efforts to strengthen international partnerships supporting sustainable fisheries management, food security, job creation, and blue economy development.
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