The workshop ‘Towards a Marine Regions Forum Conference in the Western Indian Ocean Region’ will bring together key actors from the region to initiate a process of co-design of the Marine Regions Forum conference, tentatively planned to be hosted in the WIO region in late 2022 or early 2023. This will include initial discussions on key challenges and opportunities for ocean governance to be addressed by the conference. The workshop will begin to identify priority topics, possible partners and participants, explore ideas on the conference structure, and initiate the engagement of experts and stakeholders.

The Marine Regions Forum conference will support progress towards the delivery of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals in the WIO region. It follows the implementation of the first Marine Regions Forum conference held in 2019 in Berlin, and will be co-hosted together with the Nairobi Convention and other regional partners.