ST GEORGES, Grenada – On December 4, 2024, the government of Grenada, in partnership with the European Union (EU), successfully hosted the inaugural Grenada-EU Task Force Meeting on Sargassum Valorisation at the Radisson hotel in Grenada.
This landmark event built on the commitments made during the 2nd EU-Caribbean Global Gateway Conference on Sargassum, where Grenada’s prime minister, Dickon Mitchell, pledged to collect and process 10,000 tons of sargassum by 2026.
To deliver on this pledge, the prime minister launched today an open Expression of Interest process for companies to present costed proposals to the government of Grenada by end of January 2025.
“The meeting marked a significant step toward achieving this ambitious target, with discussions focusing on offshore collection, resource mobilization, and the development of scalable pilot projects to address the sargassum issue regionally,” EEAS Bridgetown, reports. “Bringing together representatives from the Grenadian government, private sector companies, international financial institutions (IFIs), multilateral development banks (MDBs), European development agencies, and other key stakeholders, the meeting provided a platform for collaborative problem-solving and innovation. Participating companies presented costed, feasible solutions spanning the sargassum value chain, including forecasting and monitoring, collection, storage and logistics, and processing and valorisation.”
The event also fostered discussions to identify technical and funding challenges, with critical contributions from IFIs, MDBs, and EU agencies such as GIZ and Expertise France. These discussions aimed to shape actionable strategies and partnerships to transform sargassum from an environmental challenge into an economic and ecological resource for Grenada and the wider Caribbean.
EU-Caribbean conference to enable united action against the Sargassum crisis
This inaugural Task Force Meeting underscored the shared commitment of Grenada and the EU to advance sustainable sargassum management, leveraging innovation and international cooperation to support environmental sustainability, social well-being, and economic growth.
Global Gateway Investment Agenda of the EU is available here.