Mercator Ocean is participating this week in the 2025 Blue Africa Summit in Tangier, a key forum placing the Ocean at the heart of Africa’s sustainable development. The Summit brings together experts, policymakers, and civil society to advance maritime strategies that drive development, innovation, and resilience for coastal communities. 

Our teams will contribute through round tables and presentations on Ocean prediction, applied marine research, and digital Ocean infrastructures. 

📍 On October 9, Pierre Bahurel, Mercator Ocean’s DG, will join the high-level panel “Reinforcing International Cooperation,”, highlighting the role of global partnerships in advancing Ocean prediction worldwide, with a special focus on Africa through the OPERA project. 

Launched in 2025 by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) and Mercator Ocean, OPERA (Ocean Prediction Enhancement in Regions of Africa) aims to strengthen African Ocean prediction capabilities and cooperation at national, regional, and pan-African levels. The project will work with African partners to co-develop Ocean forecasting systems, applications and tools, essential for disaster risk reduction, sustainable blue economy and marine conservation responding to African needs and priorities. 

📍 On October 10, Lillian Diarra, OPERA’s project manager, will speak in the College of Experts in Science, Research and Education session, to present OPERA and explain how Mercator Ocean, through the OPERA project, contributes to the Sustainable Blue Africa Pact. 

The Ocean Prediction Enhancement for Regions of Africa (OPERA) project directly supports the Pact’s objectives by strengthening African regional capacities in ocean monitoring and forecasting, and by developing ocean-data-based services that promote sustainable blue economic growth, marine conservation, and climate resilience across African coastal nations. 

Learn more about our international cooperation and capacity-building actions: Ocean Capacity Development – Mercator Ocean International,