Bali – The 2023 Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum High Level Conference (Summit) urges strengthening solidarity in dealing with global issues related to maritime affairs.
Head of the AIS Forum Secretariat, Riny Modaso, said that currently countries consisting of islands and archipelagos are facing the same problems, including the impact of climate change that is currently occurring.
“Island and island countries often face similar problems when dealing with maritime issues. “One of them is rising sea levels due to climate change,” said Riny.
Riny emphasized that island and island countries were the first to feel the impact of this problem, therefore the AIS Forum Summit felt that joint efforts were needed to overcome this challenge.
Meanwhile, Assistant Deputy for Delimitation of Maritime Zones and Border Areas of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marinves) Sora Lokita, said that the AIS Forum Summit agenda would focus on three important aspects, namely blue economic development, the challenge of climate change, and strengthening solidarity between island and archipelagic countries.
“This is a real form, the idea is from Indonesia and the initiative is from Indonesia, we are leading it and we are trying to make this a positive contribution from Indonesia to the global level, especially in the context of maritime issues,” said Sora Lokita.
Indonesia’s involvement in the AIS Forum cannot be separated from Indonesia’s active participation in the diplomatic arena related to global maritime issues, through various international meetings. One of them was during the preparation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982 which confirmed the principle of an archipelagic state.
It is hoped that the 2023 AIS Forum Summit will not only be a forum for discussion, but will also have a concrete impact in responding to the challenges of island and archipelagic countries. It is also hoped that the meeting can become a forum between island and archipelagic countries that is sustainable like other regional organizations that have previously been established.
“In the future, as our cooperation with other island and archipelagic countries becomes increasingly connected, one day this will be able to become a forum for other collaborations beyond maritime issues,” said Sora.
Meanwhile, Deputy for Maritime Sovereignty and Energy Coordination, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs, Jodi Mahardi, said that island countries often face a number of unique and complex challenges, including environmental issues, climate change, maritime security and natural resource management.
“And, no one will understand the solutions to our problems better than people who in real life are affected by these problems and have solved them themselves,” said Jodi.
Countries that are members of the AIS Forum have actively collaborated and cooperated through various programs managed by the AIS Forum Secretariat. In these various focus areas, the AIS Forum continues to support efforts to strengthen solidarity between member countries.
These values of solidarity are reflected in various programs, such as joint research and development in various fields, as well as in supporting the blue economy through empowering Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and startups in AIS member countries. In addition, through a series of high-level meetings and international collaboration, AIS Forum member countries have demonstrated their commitment to building cooperation.