The President of the Government of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, stressed this morning, during the opening event of the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference, that “we are proud to be part of the solutions to the great challenges facing the seas and oceans”. And he added that Catalonia “is one of the European territories whose economy is most dependent on the sea,” which accounts for almost 5% of the country’s employment.

Along the same lines, he emphasised that the sea “represents not only an economic dimension, but, as the Mediterranean country that we are, it has a cultural dimension and contributes to the construction of a shared identity, which unites us as a society, as a nation, and as a people”.

During the event, which took place at the Barcelona International Convention Centre, the head of the Executive also emphasised that the Barcelona Declaration will be proclaimed at this Ocean Decade Conference, and stressed that “it is an honour that the capital of Catalonia should give its name to such an important agreement, a road map for the preservation of life in the seas and oceans, and, consequently, for the whole planet”.

Pere Aragonès recalled that Catalonia has had its own maritime policy since 2016 and has promoted and planned a “maritime strategy with a 2030 time frame, in which science and innovation play a leading role in resolving the challenges we face”.