HomeBureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs...Atlantic Cooperation

# **Atlantic Cooperation**

## Overview

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The Atlantic Ocean connects and sustains us like never before.  More commercial and shipping traffic crosses the Atlantic than any other ocean.  More data travels along its underwater cables than any other ocean.  It is home to more than half of the world’s fisheries. 

Atlantic states are also linked by common challenges.  As the ocean warms and sea level rises, those changes threaten marine ecosystems and the people who depend on them – jeopardizing livelihoods and exacerbating food insecurity.  More frequent and powerful storms are devastating coastal communities, including here in the United States.  Seaweed blooms are growing to unprecedented sizes, creating public health challenges, harming tourism, and smothering coral reefs, seagrass beds, and the animals that inhabit them. 

Recognizing the Atlantic’s importance to our lives and our collective future, the United States joined three dozen countries on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023 to launch the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation.  An unprecedented number of coastal Atlantic countries across Africa, Europe, North America, South America, and the Caribbean have come together to tackle shared challenges and uphold a set of shared principles. 

Each member of our Partnership is committed to the interconnected goals of advancing a peaceful, stable, prosperous, open, safe, and cooperative Atlantic region – from north to south and east to west – and to conserving the Atlantic Ocean as a healthy, sustainable, and resilient resource for generations to come.

The following countries have adopted the Declaration on Atlantic Cooperation and joined the Partnership: Angola, Argentina, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Iceland, Ireland, Liberia, Mauritania, Morocco, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Republic of the Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Spain, Suriname, Togo, United Kingdom, United States, and Uruguay. 

Ambassador Jessye Lapenn, **SENIOR COORDINATOR FOR ATLANTIC COOPERATION**

Declaration on Atlantic Cooperation

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“This is the first multilateral entity of this scope open to all Atlantic nations, bridging four continents. And at a moment when there’s some doubt about our ability to come together in common cause, we’re showing with this initiative that it is indeed possible.”  
Antony J. Blinken**Secretary of State**

Atlantic Cooperation Meeting

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Senior Coordinator for Atlantic Cooperation Ambassador Jessica Lapenn at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C. on March 8, 2023. [State Department photo by Chuck Kennedy/ Public Domain]

## Media

## Briefings and Articles

            -  April 26, 2024  							Commitment to Building an Atlantic Ocean Community															 
            -  September 19, 2023  								Readout of the Atlantic Cooperation Ministerial															 

## Press Releases

            -  April 23, 2024  								Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation Forum on Innovative Financing Solutions for Marine Conservation															 
            -  February 20, 2024  								Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation Senior Officials Meeting															 
            -  January 8, 2024  								Senior Coordinator for Atlantic Cooperation Lapenn’s Travel to Canada															 
            -  November 30, 2023  								Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation Senior Officials Meeting															 
            -  October 17, 2023  								Senior Coordinator for Atlantic Cooperation Lapenn’s Travel to the United Kingdom, Morocco, and France															 
            -  September 18, 2023  								Secretary Blinken Launches the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation															 
            -  September 18, 2023  							Declaration on Atlantic Cooperation															 
            -  September 18, 2023  							FACT SHEET: 32 Countries Launch the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation															 
            -  September 8, 2023  								Second Senior Officials Meeting on Atlantic Cooperation															 
            -  July 14, 2023  							Senior Coordinator for Atlantic Cooperation Lapenn’s Travel to Portugal and Belgium													 
            -  July 3, 2023  							Senior Coordinator for Atlantic Cooperation Lapenn’s Travel to Ireland													 
            -  May 25, 2023  							Senior Officials Meeting on Atlantic Cooperation													 
            -  September 20, 2022  							Joint Statement on Atlantic Cooperation													 

## Remarks

            -  September 18, 2023  								Secretary Antony J. Blinken At the Ministerial Meeting on Atlantic Cooperation															 
            -  July 17, 2023  							Remarks for Africa Center/Atlantic Centre Seminar													 
            -  September 20, 2022  							Secretary Antony J. Blinken Remarks at the Strengthening Atlantic Cooperation Ministerial Meeting													 
            -  September 20, 2022  							Secretary Blinken hosts the Strengthening Atlantic Cooperation Ministerial Meeting [Video]															 
            -  September 20, 2022  							Assistant Secretary Medina Remarks at the Ministerial on Strengthening Atlantic Cooperation													 

## Events

            -  January 18, 2024  							Brookings: A New Maritime Partnership for the Atlantic															 

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