Ahead of the Opening of the 2023 AIS Summit in Bali, Indonesia Invites Dozens of Island Countries
Ahead of the opening of the Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Summit (Summit) in Bali on October 11 2023, Indonesia has invited 51 island and archipelagic countries.
A global initiative that brings together 51 island and island nations to take part in a collective forum to address the challenges of exploiting marine resources for sustainable economic growth, resilience to climate change, marine pollution, emergency management and the promotion of sustainable fisheries.
As is known, island and archipelagic States (AIS) usually refer to countries that consist mostly of islands or have significant archipelagic areas. These countries often face unique challenges and opportunities due to their geographic characteristics.
The main aim of the AIS Forum is to strengthen collaboration in overcoming global problems in four main areas, namely climate change mitigation and adaptation, blue economy, handling plastic waste at sea, and good maritime governance. This includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing resilience to climate change.
“AIS Forum is a unique platform that brings together island and archipelagic countries from various regions. “Our goal is to encourage collaborative action and overcome the common challenges faced by these countries in overcoming global problems in four main areas,” said Dr. Abdul Wahib Situmorang (Ucok), Senior Advisor for Climate and Environmental Governance, AIS Program Manager.
Apart from that, the AIS Summit also seeks to promote a blue economy which refers to the sustainable use of marine and water resources, involving sectors such as tourism, renewable energy, aquaculture and marine industry.
The AIS Forum also tries to overcome the problem of marine plastic debris or marine plastic waste. In addition, through cooperation between participating countries, the AIS Forum aims to strengthen good ocean governance, sustainable management of marine areas, and fair and sustainable management of marine resources.
“Through the AIS Forum, we aim to promote concrete action, youth engagement and innovative solutions to improve the livelihoods of coastal communities. “Together, we can have a significant impact and achieve global goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030,” said Abdul.
In addition, Plt. Assistant Deputy (Asdep) for Delimitation Zones for Maritime Zones and Border Areas, Sora Lokita (Oki) also said that Indonesia has an important and strategic role in the AIS Forum, Indonesia’s leadership is really needed to bridge collaboration between developed and developing countries in the AIS. Indonesia’s position makes it possible to encourage concrete and inclusive collaboration between countries without looking at differences in economic status or territorial size.
“Indonesia is seen as having many best practices. We don’t want to save it only for our own needs, but we want to create a global movement where we can mobilize solutions to the problems of island and island countries from all over the world. “The hope is that this movement will become more massive and ultimately island and archipelagic countries can face challenges together,” he said.
