TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Minister Retno urges archipelagic and island states to collaborate in ocean economy
Change Size
F
oreign Minister Retno Marsudi encourages the archipelagos to strengthen partnership to advance ocean economy and contribute to address various global challenges.
The statement was delivered by the minister in the opening of the 4th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Archipelagic and Island States Forum/AIS Forum in Bali, on Dec. 6.
The minister stated that we needed to maintain hope and optimism amid the complexity of various global challenges. The Group of 20 Summit in Bali last month showed how the global leaders were able to keep the spirit of collaboration and put aside differences.
The Foreign Minister emphasized two things within the context of AIS Forum cooperation:
First, the importance of the collaborative spirit to address global challenges. “AIS Forum must serve as a platform for collaboration to solve global challenges, including through synergy with other initiatives,” the minister said.
Second, the importance of strengthening our unity to advance common cause. “Sustainable-ocean economy is one common cause that can unite us. After all, we all depend on the ocean for foods and livelihood; but at the same time, the ocean also presents us with enormous challenges,” stated the minister.
These challenges include the sea-level rise, marine pollution and overexploitation of marine resources. “Left unaddressed, the archipelagic and island states will bear much of the brunt,” said the minister.
The AIS Forum was established in 2018 by the initiative of Indonesia as a platform for development cooperation for archipelagic and small-island states. AIS Forum has 47 participating countries and focuses on concrete cooperation to address climate change, blue economy, marine pollution and good maritime governance.
The 4th Ministerial Meeting of the AIS Forum was attended by 22 countries and 2 international organizations. The meeting was opened by Retno and the Coordinating Maritime and Investment Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, and afterward was led by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono.
Participants agreed to strengthen cooperation on the five thematic areas of AIS Forum: to improve closer engagement for various strategic programs on the economic recovery, attainment of SDGs especially related to ocean, innovative financing, blue economy and advancing research on sustainable management of ocean resources.
