Atlantic countries commit to environmental and economic cooperation on the sidelines of the UN meeting

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 30 Atlantic nations on four continents pledged Monday to strengthen coordination on economic development, environmental protection, maritime issues and more, the White House said.

The Atlantic Cooperation Declaration was finalized on Monday evening at a meeting hosted by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken before the talks began. Annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

“The Atlantic Ocean connects and supports us like never before,” Blinken told the gathering. He noted that the Atlantic Ocean hosts the largest amount of international shipping and, through submarine cables, is a route for more data traffic than any other ocean.

However, he said the Atlantic Ocean is also threatened by climate change, which has brought stronger and more destructive storms to vulnerable coastal communities and illegal fishing. “The warming and cooling of the Atlantic Ocean is what drives global climate and weather patterns,” he said.

The declaration includes a commitment to an open Atlantic region free from interference, coercion or aggressive action. The signatories also agreed to support the sovereign equality, territorial integrity and political independence of states, and to recognize the role each state plays in the Atlantic.

Efforts have been launched to tighten coordination between Atlantic coastal states across Africa, Europe, North America and South America On the sidelines of the General Assembly last year With the establishment of the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, a forum designed by the Biden administration.

The countries that ratified Monday’s declaration are: Angola, Argentina, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, and Iceland. Ireland, Liberia, Mauritania, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Spain, Togo, United Kingdom, United States and Uruguay.

The White House described the forum as a way to improve cooperation between North and South Atlantic countries on key issues and reach agreement on a set of principles for the Atlantic region.

The World Bank estimates that Atlantic trade contributes $1.5 trillion annually to the global economy and expects this number to double by 2030. Sustainable ocean economy sectors are estimated to generate nearly 50 million jobs in Africa and contribute $21 billion to the economy. latin america. . But challenges include illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing; natural disasters; And illicit trafficking.

This announcement comes at a time when thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of New York while world leaders gather in New York to attend the General Assembly. Activists are pushing world leaders to act more quickly to limit climate change.

Many leaders of the countries that cause the most heat-causing carbon pollution will not attend this year’s General Assembly. Some attendees, including President Joe Biden, are not planning to attend a climate-focused summit on Wednesday organized by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.