Belize Unlock Blue and Green Economy Potential in First Industrial Strategy

Belize completed a week-long study tour to Japan as part of the development of the country’s first Industrial Strategy. The Office of the Prime Minister, through the Investment Policy and Compliance Unit in the Ministry of Investment, ran the tour from June 29 to July 3 in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

According to a government statement, the 6-member delegation “provided Belizean policymakers with firsthand exposure to Japan’s innovative approaches to sustainable industrial development, blue economy industries, biotechnology, seaweed cultivation and processing, aquaculture technologies, biomass utilization, carbon sequestration, environmental technologies, investment promotion, and industrial policy implementation.”

UNIDO representatives Dr Nobuya Haraguchi, Dr Anders Isaksson and Christoph Graeser accompanied the group. Meetings included Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Yamaguchi University and companies such as UMITRON and Euglena Co., Ltd.

The Ministry of Investment said the strategy will build on Belize’s blue and green economy advantages to boost value-added production, exports and employment, while advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.