Bali – Indonesia is trusted to host the Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum High Level Conference (Summit).
The meeting, which will take place on 10-11 October 2023, will take place at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC), Bali.
Director General of Information and Public Communication of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Ministry of Communication and Information), Usman Kansong, explained that the AIS Forum Summit would be attended by a number of high-ranking officials from member countries and representatives of world organizations.
“Confirmed attendance includes Comoros, Micronesia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Príncipe, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Fiji, Tonga, Singapore, Madagascar, Marshall Island, Palau, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Cabo Verde, New Zealand, Cyprus, Ireland, Japan, Samoa, England, Cook Islands, Malta, Belize, Sri Lanka. Don’t forget international organizations such as MSG, PIF and ASEAN. “We hope that as we get closer to October 11 2023, more people will confirm their attendance,” said Usman.
Usman Kansong invited national and local media to amplify the 2023 AIS Forum Summit activities so that the public could know and understand, especially regarding concrete examples of what was carried out and the benefits of the AIS Forum for Indonesia.
“This belief has no meaning or meaning if it is not conveyed to the public by media friends. “We really hope that friends can amplify the implementation of AIS so that people can understand it better,” he said.
Likewise, Assistant Deputy for Delimitation of Maritime Zones and Border Areas of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves), Sora Lokita, said that in this case, many island and archipelagic countries would participate in the first AIS Forum Summit in Bali.
“Indonesia is seen as having many best practices. We don’t want to save it just for our own needs, but we want to create a global movement where we can mobilize solutions to the problems of island countries and archipelagos from all over the world. “The hope is that this movement will become more massive and finally island and archipelagic countries can face challenges together,” hoped Sora Lokita.
Sora emphasized that the target of the AIS Forum Summit is to serve as a forum for aspirations and hopes that prioritize the interests of the people of the country itself.
“At the AIS Forum Summit which was held in Bali, one of the main targets was the leaders’ declaration which contained the hopes of state leaders, how in the future this AIS Forum Summit will continue to develop into an international organization that can help the benefit of islanders or residents in “island and archipelagic countries, as well as improving and improving various programs and work that have been carried out by the AIS Forum,” he explained.
Furthermore, Sora explained that the AIS Forum Summit was an idea and innovation driven by Indonesia. This idea was initiated in 2017 based on the challenges faced by Indonesia as an archipelagic country. Not only the problem of climate change, developing the potential of the blue economy, but also problems of connectivity, empowerment of coastal communities, and marine pollution. (*)