Jamaica Takes 2029 Our Ocean Conference to Montego Bay

Minister Matthew Samuda formally accepted, on behalf of the Government and people of Jamaica, the right to stage the 13th Our Ocean Conference during a handover ceremony in Mombasa, Kenya on Thursday.

The international gathering, planned for Montego Bay in June 2029, stands among the foremost global meetings on ocean protection and sustainable maritime development. Since its launch, the conference has drawn thousands of commitments and directed billions of dollars toward improving ocean health.

Samuda received the hosting designation from Kenyan President William Ruto at this year's conference.

Montego Bay's selection carries deliberate historical weight. The city was the setting for talks that led to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the core legal framework that governs how nations use and protect the world's oceans.

Jamaica, a Small Island Developing State whose Exclusive Economic Zone covers roughly twenty-four times its land area, treats the sea as central to national life. Marine resources underpin food security, livelihoods, climate resilience, and cultural identity.

Samuda cast the acceptance as a mandate to deliver results rather than hold more talk. "The world does not need another conference," he said. "The world needs outcomes." He pointed to 2029 as a critical moment for measuring progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 14 on life below water, where several targets remain severely off track ahead of the 2030 deadline.

Jamaica takes up the hosting role amid mounting pressures on the ocean, including climate-driven warming and acidification, biodiversity loss, marine pollution, and illegal fishing. Samuda pledged a conference focused on implementation and measurable commitments, closing with a signal of its intended theme: "One ocean. One future. One shared responsibility."