The Republic of Panama opened the eighth annual ‘Our Oceans Conference: Our Ocean, Our connection’, underscoring Latin America’s invaluable contributions to marine conservation and global ocean leadership. Attendees at the Oceans Conference in Panama agreed on 341 commitments worth nearly $20 billion to protect the world’s seas from an environmental viewpoint.

The conference was first held in 2014 at the initiative of the U.S. Department of State to draw attention on threats to the world’s oceans and to urge action that may enact policies that will promote and protect our ocean’s health. Commitments are voluntary, measurable, impactful actions with a clear timeframe towards a clean, healthy, and productive ocean.

Lupo del Bono, Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta in Panama, and Felipe Victoria Grueso, Counsellor of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the United Nations represented the Sovereign Order of Malta during the Conference.