BALI – The High Level/Summit Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum 2023, which was held on October 10-11 in Bali further strengthened the role of Indonesia in the global arena.
This was confirmed by the Director General of Public Information and Communication of the Ministry of Communication and Information (Dirjen IKP Kominfo), Usman Kansong, during the Media Briefing AIS Forum 2023 which was assembled with the 10th World Water Forum (WWF) meeting, in Nusa Dua, Bali.
“Therefore, there needs to be glorification of the issues related to the event so that the community can unite the narrative to know, recognize, and understand AIS forums and their relevance to everyday life. Therefore, we, as the person in charge of public communication, AIS Forum 2023 invites all media colleagues to participate in their respective channels, “said Usman Kansong.
The move was important to be done together, because according to Usman, the series of activities in the AIS Forum 2023 did not only take place on October 11, 2023, but a number of agendas were also scheduled to take place from before until after the summit.
Starting from Ministerial Meeting, Gala Dinner, Ais Leaders Lunch, SPouse Program, Side Visit to a number of destinations to Side Events that also enliven the AIS Forum 2023 Summit.
“Glorification AIS Forum 2023 needs to be done by all parties, considering that Indonesia is the initiator of the forum so that many benefits will be obtained. Not only the good name but economically Indonesia gained many benefits with the presence of heads of state, delegations and invited guests, “explained Usman Kansong.
The same thing was conveyed by the Assistant Deputy of Maritime Zone and Border Areas of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment (Kemenko Marves), Sora Lokita, who was present online.
“Indonesia wants to contribute more to the world as the largest archipelago in the world. Because for the island and islands, the challenges faced are relatively the same, “he said.
According to the man who is familiarly called Oki, the challenges of the island and islands are not only lies in how to create blue economy (blue economy), sustainability of development (SDGs), to climate change (Climate Change). But greater than that such as connectivity problems, empowerment of coastal communities, even marine solutions problems.
“For this reason, the AIS Forum is expected to produce a leader’s joint declaration whose main purpose is to bring AIS Forum as an international organization based on treaty/charter. The Summit is also expected to be a concrete means of deliverbles in the form of AIS Forum programs, “Oki hoped.
Meanwhile, the Senior Advisor for Climate Governance Undp Indonesia, Abdul Wahib Situmorang, who was also present online revealed that there were at least three important messages of the Holding AIS Forum 2023.
“First, the sea as the backbone of the island and islands, it is very important to maintain and utilize the sea which is the veins of life through sustainable development,” Abdul Wahib said.
Second, the island and archipelago requires a smart and diverse solution according to the needs as well as the current conditions and in the future. Therefore the AIS forum is expected to produce solutions that are not only owned by developed countries, but also by developing countries and can be applied together according to the conditions of the region by making it a AIS Pedia platform.
“The third important message, after four years of being formed, in the first semester 2023 alone AIS Forum has held at least seven activities that were welcomed enthusiastically in a number of island and island countries,” he said.
These activities such as entrepreneurship workshops in Vanuatu, who were welcomed and considered as concrete cooperation AIS Forum. Other activities were also held in Fiji, Solomon Island, Dominica, Jamaica, to Papua New Guinea.
Since being initiated in 2018, various series of high -ranking official meetings and the Minister of State AIS Forum have been held to build and strengthen collaboration between AIS countries.
At AIS Forum 2023 in Nusa Dua, Bali, 10-11 October 2023, Indonesia will also invite dozens of these countries to join various meetings at high-ranking levels, ministerial levels and head levels.
The main theme of AIS Forum 2023 is “Fostering Collaboration, Enabling Innovation, For Our Ocean and Our Future” by emphasizing Blue Economy, Our Ocean, Our Future, and Solidarity.