The Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) High Level Conference (Summit) was held on 10-11 October 2023. The forum which was held in Bali sought to invite all island countries to strengthen solidarity to overcome maritime issues.
This was conveyed directly by the Head of the AIS Forum Secretariat, Riny Modaso. According to him, in principle, the AIS Forum was initiated as a forum to overcome the problems faced by island and island countries
“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 the Head of the AIS Forum Secretariat.
He gave the example that island countries are the first to be affected by maritime problems. Therefore, it is hoped that the AIS Forum can become a collective effort to overcome this issue.
Collaboration and cooperation, added Riny, are needed to overcome common problems between maritime countries. 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 are the Blue Economy and Our Ocean, Our Future.
“These three discussions are a summary of the four focuses of AIS Forum’s work so far. “Namely climate change adaptation and mitigation, disaster management, blue economy, plastic waste in the sea, and maritime governance,” he explained.
Previously, Assistant Deputy for Delimitation of Maritime Zones and Border Areas of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves) Sora Lokita assessed that the AIS Summit was a form of Indonesia’s contribution as an initiator in dealing with global issues related to maritime affairs.
“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,” he said.
Sora explained that throughout history Indonesia has continued to play an active role in the diplomatic arena related to global maritime issues through its participation in various international meetings.
He revealed that one example was Indonesia being involved in drafting the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea which confirmed the principle of an archipelagic state.
“We succeeded in realizing the principles of an island nation. After that we were involved in several discussions, but all in the context of us participating in a process, not us creating and leading the process,” he explained.
For your information, the AIS Summit will take place in Bali on October 11 2023. Meanwhile, on October 10 2023, a ministerial level meeting of the AIS Forum will be held to prepare documents and other special matters.
