On 14 March 2018, the Farnesina hosted an event to present “Blue Sea Land – Expo of the clusters from the Mediterranean, Africa and Middle East”, organised by the Fisheries and Blue Growth District. The event, which was first launched in 2009, is at its 7th edition this year, which is scheduled to run from 4 to 7 October in Mazara del Vallo.
The event aims to strengthen dialogue with the Countries of the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Africa, by capitalising on the resources of the agro-food production chain. In his opening remarks, the president of the District, Giovanni Tumbiolo, announced that the leading theme of the next edition will be bio-economy, a title that well fits the characteristics of Italy’s sustainable and natural productions that are closely linked to the territory and to the sea. The main partners of the event will be Tunisia and Burkina Faso.
The key to the success of “Blue Sea Land” lies in the agro-food Districts and in the will to promote development within a circular economy that not only embraces agriculture and fishing but extends to all the production chains through the struggle to combat waste; regenerate natural, land and marine resources; economic, social, environmental and cultural sustainability and innovation of the production processes.
The Director General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation, Vincenzo De Luca, reaffirmed the Foreign Ministry’s staunch support for an event with such wide international acclaim and with a large participation of foreign delegations, and emphasised the constant support that the Ministry has assured towards its success. The representatives of Public Administrations, agencies, trade associations and companies all expressed their appreciation for the continuity and consolidation over time of an initiative that has progressively grown every year and that, in the 2017 edition, recorded more than 150,000 visitors.
