Atlantic Cooperation

Recognizing the Atlantic Ocean’s importance to our lives and our collective future – more commercial and shipping traffic crosses the Atlantic than any other ocean; more data travels along its underwater cables than any other ocean; the Atlantic is home to more than half of the world’s fisheries and over one billion people in coastal communities – 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 (Atlantic Partnership). 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 the Atlantic 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.

Members are working together to take tangible action to implement the Declaration on Atlantic Cooperation and its Plan of Action, and exploring opportunities to harness the expertise, energy, and innovation of governments, NGOs, academia, philanthropies, and the private sector.

The following 43 countries have adopted the Declaration on Atlantic Cooperation and joined the Partnership: Angola, Argentina, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, 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, Panama, Portugal, Republic of the Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Spain, Suriname, The Bahamas, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States, and Uruguay. 

Representing more than 75 percent of the Atlantic coastline, Atlantic Partnership members are pursuing joint endeavors that resonate across the region, including the economic benefits of marine spatial planning, science capacity building and exchange, and innovative financing to support ambitious environmental and ocean conservation goals.  The United States deployed $10 million in 2024 to bolster innovative programs using new technologies, training, forecasting, and other effective approaches to chronic problems such as food insecurity, threats to marine ecosystems, and extreme weather events.  Atlantic partners will convene in Cote d’Ivoire on food security solutions for coastal Atlantic states, highlighting the ocean’s critical potential.  

September 25, 2024 Our oceans’ future Sustaining the world’s most important resource 

April 26, 2024 Commitment to Building an Atlantic Ocean Community

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

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