Two back-to-back events in Monaco put the Blue economy in the spotlight and inspired billions of euros of investment commitments into ocean initiatives. Both events focussed on innovative projects and technologies that are helping to pave the way toward a regenerative and sustainable blue economy.
First, the Princely Couple opened the 17th edition of the Monaco Blue Initiative (MBI) at the Oceanographic Museum on Wednesday 27 May 2026. One day later, the Sovereign opened the second edition of the Blue Economy & Finance Forum (BEFF) at the Grimaldi Forum. World leaders in ocean governance, international organizations, NGOs, the private sector, the scientific community and the media gathered for both events.
“Investing in the Ocean is no longer simply responsible. It is profitable. The Ocean has become an asset class in its own right. This is why we are changing the role of the Monaco Blue Initiative itself. From this year, it is conceived as a prelude to the Blue Economy and Finance Forum,” said Prince Albert II in his opening speech. The Sovereign went on to call for the ocean to be recognized as a viable asset for sustainable finance.
The MBI featured participation from eighty-eight organizations, thirty high-level speakers, with six “solution-oriented” workshops. Results and recommendations from the MBI will soon be brought to high-level international discussions and negotiations on ocean protection and governance, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the International Marine Protected Areas Congress.
The next day, the Blue Economy & Finance Forum, also organized by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Oceanographic Institute, brought together 300 political decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and international experts with the aim to accelerate the transition to a sustainable maritime economy. Almost fifty nations were represented during twenty organized sessions (including side-events) which featured fifty-six speakers.
€8.7 billion in commitments
Last year, the first edition got the BEFF generated €8.7 billion of new firm commitments by 2030 and identified over €25 billion of investments in the ocean transition.
“While the first edition of BEFF demonstrated that the ocean belongs on the balance sheet, this second edition aims to show that solutions exist and are operational, providing tangible proof that ‘it works’,” said the BEFF in a recent press release.
In his speech, Prince Albert II reflected on the progress made since last year’s event by saying that the question now is not “whether we should invest in the Ocean, but how quickly, and how boldly.”
“Only one thing now stands between the Ocean and the capital it needs: the decision to act. And a delayed decision is never neutral. The cost of waiting on the Ocean is documented, it is rising, and it is paid by those who come after us. Let me be plain: I will not ask whether the Ocean is investable. We have left that question behind us. I ask something harder. Investing in the Ocean now. Investing in it at scale. And investing in it as what it truly is – not a risk to be managed, but the defining opportunity of our time,” said Prince Albert II.
On the sidelines of the Forum, the Sovereign received Her Highness Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, President and CEO of Frontier25, as well as Catherine Chabaud, French Minister Delegate for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in audience.
According to the BEFF, the strong participation of high-level private sector actors in this year’s event “reflects the growing momentum of the blue economy and helps lay the foundations for the BEFF to become a key annual rendez-vous for marine and finance communities.”
