The 2nd Steering Committee Meeting for the preparation of the ROPME Strategic Plan was held virtually on 17 September 2023. The meeting was chaired by the representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The participants included representatives from the Member States as well as CEFAS.
The ROPME Executive Secretary presented the feedback received from participants on the draft Strategy Document (Part 1). The Committee then engaged in an extensive discussion on the Vision Statement, taking into account comments from the Member States. Following deliberations, the Committee agreed on the Vision Statement:
“Towards a thriving, healthy, and sustainable marine environment in the ROPME Sea Area for the benefit of current and future generations.”
The Mission Statement was also reviewed in detail. It was decided to combine the three main texts, the original, Qatar’s proposed text, and CEFAS’s proposed text, into a single coherent statement. The Executive Secretary, together with CEFAS, will make the necessary amendments to finalize the text. The Committee noted that the objectives would be revised to reflect the comments received and would be presented for discussion in the next meeting. Additionally, the schedule for upcoming Steering Committee meetings was reviewed, and it was agreed that the concluding attendance meeting would be held on 29–30 October 2023
