French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Bridget, arrived in Monaco on Saturday, where they were welcomed for a historic national visit to the French Riviera principality.
Macron and his wife received traditional military honors from King Albert II of Monaco and Princess Monaco at a ceremony at the Prince’s Palace.
In a Facebook post, Monaco welcomed its ties with France and said that the principality and Paris have a strong bond of friendship with the open border.
The Palace said it emphasized that Monaco and France have worked together in many areas, from health to safety, to culture and education, and that both states are focusing on a more sustainable future.
According to the Prince’s Palace, more than 40,000 French citizens work across the border in Monaco every day, and travel by Macron presented opportunities to discuss bilateral issues and mutual benefits.
Macron’s two-day visit was the first state visit to Monaco by the French President of Françoi Mitterland in 1984.
It also preceded the UN Ocean Ocean Conference with Nice on Tuesday. Macron will be charged to attend alongside other global leaders, and the EU is expected to formally launch the “European Maritime Agreement.”
United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice
The agreement seeks to address the threat of climate and pollution to biodiversity, as well as the challenges of coastal livelihoods.
Meanwhile, European Fisheries and Marine Commissioner Costas Cadiz on Saturday described the agreement as a shared roadmap for marine health and marine sustainability.
Kadis said this in a key speech at the Blue Economy and Finance Forum in Monaco ahead of the UN Ocean Conference.
“In the context of this year’s UN Marine Conference, we have pledged a voluntary commitment of approximately 1 billion euros to marine and coastal biodiversity and climate,” Cadiz told the forum.
This support has been extended beyond the EU and is also targeting dedicated initiatives in Africa, the Pacific and Latin America,” the EU committee member said in his speech.
No matter how promising it may be, some NGO groups have taken jabs in the agreement, saying they have not reached their needs and are missing out on opportunities.
In a joint statement, a group of six major environmental NGOs said the agreement was short of providing the urgent action and binding targets needed to protect the ocean.
The 3rd United Nations Marine Conference, co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, will be held from June 9th to 13th.
