Towards Strengthened Cooperation

This Thursday, April 24, Antananarivo became the center of the Indian Ocean. The Ivato International Conference Center is hosting the 5th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC).

Nearly 1,000 delegates from the five member states – Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Réunion – gathered to discuss a key issue: food security and sovereignty. As host of the summit, President Andry Rajoelina opened the ceremony by sharing his vision: transforming Madagascar into a true agricultural breadbasket for the region. The Head of State noted that the IOC countries together possess vast land areas, but their resources are still underutilized. Madagascar, for example, cultivates rice on 2 million hectares, but still has 36 million hectares of arable land.

French President Emmanuel Macron, a special guest, emphasized that “food security is an investment for peace.” Macron reiterated France’s commitment to invest 750 million EUR in nutrition globally, with a portion earmarked for the Indian Ocean.

The summit also saw the signing of an important agreement to access the Green Climate Fund. In the afternoon, Emmanuel Macron visited Father Pedro’s Akamasoa Center. Moved by this initiative, he pledged a donation of 100,000 EUR to support this “army of fraternity” dedicated to the most disadvantaged.