Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, the President and CEO of Frontier25 and The Climate Tribe, and Chairwomen of Alliances for Global Sustainability, RESET MENA and Aurora50 delivered a keynote address at the second annual Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF) in Monaco, in the presence of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Catherine Chabaud, France’s Minister of State attached to the Minister for Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, and International Climate and Nature Negotiations, in charge of the Sea and Fisheries.
Organised by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco, under the patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, BEFF 2026 brought together participants from the public and private sectors, the finance sector, and the world of philanthropy to accelerate the transition to a sustainable and regenerative blue economy.
Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan said: ”The sea is not a resource. It is a responsibility. It is also the source and sustenance of life on this planet. That is not sentiment. It is the basis on which every economy, including the blue economy we are convened to discuss, ultimately rests.
“We can make a difference. At the heart of this lies investment. An investment of time, an investment of care, and an investment of capital into the ideas, pathways, and innovations that human curiosity can create. This is a duty handed down from generations past to generations still to come. We cannot allow ourselves to be blown off course. Climate change will not pause, and neither should we.”
Prince Albert II of Monaco said: “The barriers to investing in the Ocean are falling, one by one. 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.”
In January 2026, Frontier25 and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the 10th edition of the Ocean Innovators Platform on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The MoU committed both organisations to working together to promote and develop their sustainability goals, including but not limited to promoting and developing impact investment, ocean innovation, and blue finance.
The MoU follows on from established marine conservation efforts in the UAE, including the work of The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi to restore four million coral colonies by 2030 – the largest coral rehabilitation project in the world.
