Reviving the AU’s maritime strategy

The African Union (AU) has developed comprehensive maritime strategies, most notably the 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy (2050 AIMS), but implementation has stalled due to a lack of resources, expertise, and a clear conceptual definition of the 'blue economy'. The document highlights the failure of the 2050 AIMS Strategic Task Force (STF) to meet quorum or produce a road map, and the marginalisation of the interdepartmental task force within the Office of the Legal Counsel. To resolve this, the author recommends establishing a dedicated AU department of maritime affairs—potentially within the Department of Trade and Industry or Transport—and convening a conference in 2017 to align the AU's vision of the blue economy with Agenda 2063.

• The African Union is currently failing to implement its maritime strategies because of a deficiency in expertise and resources, risking the marginalisation of maritime security efforts.
• There is a critical lack of consensus on the definition of the 'blue economy' across AU documents, including the 2050 AIMS, Agenda 2063, and the Lomé Charter, which hinders coordinated action among the 54 African states.
• The 2050 AIMS Strategic Task Force (STF), intended to be the 'lynchpin' for the maritime strategy, has been unsuccessful, failing to hold official meetings or reach quorum since its July 2015 meeting.
• The interdepartmental task force for 2050 AIMS has suffered from a loss of institutional memory and expertise due to staff departures in 2016 and a lack of sufficient resources while located in the Office of the Legal Counsel.
• The author recommends establishing a specialised maritime office or department within the AU Commission, suggesting it be placed in the Department of Trade and Industry or Transport to better leverage the economic potential of the blue economy.
• The Lomé Charter is viewed as a missed opportunity because it prioritised security-centric provisions over economic maritime development and left key explanatory text in unpublished annexes.

APA

Walker, T. (2017). Reviving the AU’s maritime strategy. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief96.pdf

Chicago

Walker, Timothy. Reviving the AU’s maritime strategy. Institute for Security Studies, 2017. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief96.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Walker |first1=Timothy |title=Reviving the AU’s maritime strategy |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=February 2017 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief96.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{walker2017reviving, author = {Walker, Timothy}, title = {{Reviving the AU’s maritime strategy}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2017}, month = feb, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief96.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }