Bali – Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum 2923 High Level Conference (Summit) calls for strengthening solidarity to overcome problems in the maritime sector, including advancing the Blue Economy. Head of the AIS Forum Secretariat, Riny Modaso, said that currently island and archipelago countries are facing the same problems, one of which is climate change which causes sea levels to rise.
“Island and island countries generally face the same problems when faced with maritime issues. “One example is climate change which causes sea levels to rise,” said Riny in his statement in Jakarta.
According to him, the AIS Forum sees that there needs to be a collective effort to overcome this issue. Collaboration and joint work are needed to be able to overcome these common problems. This then became a reference for the AIS Forum to convey the key message of solidarity as one of its derivative themes.
“The other two main topics of discussion are the blue economy and the sea as the future. There are four focuses of AIS Forum’s work so far, namely climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as disaster management, blue economy, handling plastic waste at sea, and good maritime governance. “In its development, the AIS Forum participating countries collaborate and work together through programs carried out by the AIS Forum Secretariat,” he concluded.
In various work focus areas, the AIS Forum continues to facilitate efforts to strengthen solidarity between AIS countries. The values of solidarity are then realized in various programs, such as Joint-Research in the field of research and development. In the future, the AIS Forum participating countries will collaborate and work together, he said
Then, the blue economy sector was strengthened through the empowerment and acceleration of MSMEs and startups from various AIS countries. In fact, there have been several international collaborations through a series of high-level official and ministerial level meetings, said Riny Modaso.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chairperson of the Maritime, Investment and Foreign Affairs Coordinator of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), Shinta Kamdani, also hopes that the AIS Forum Summit will strengthen the blue economy program.
“This AIS Forum can help strengthen the blue economy, thereby ensuring sustainable marine food reserves,” said Shinta.
In fact, as a form of commitment to advancing the blue economy sector, the Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum is ready to support island and island countries in issuing sovereign blue bonds.
Deputy for Coordination of Maritime Sovereignty and Energy, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves), Jodi Mahardi, said that this form of support was demonstrated through the commitment of the AIS Forum to collaborate in preparing Blue Financing Strategic Guidelines (Blue Financing Strategic Framework) which was developed through the collaboration of the AIS Forum Secretariat , the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment of the Republic of Indonesia, and the Innovative Financing Lab of UNDP Indonesia.
“We realize that cross-stakeholder cooperation is urgently needed to facilitate the global transition towards a more sustainable marine economy. “With this guide, economic actors in all sectors will more easily see opportunities and take part by investing sustainably in the blue economy,” said Jodi.
Indonesia’s courage to start taking a leadership role in the 2023 AIS Summit forum will certainly be a momentum to strengthen its influence in the international world. Therefore, the call to strengthen solidarity to overcome maritime problems is very important. Through this AIS Forum Summit, it is hoped that it will strengthen the role of island countries in finding smart solutions and working together in pushing forward the future agenda for global maritime governance.
