BALI – The 2023 Archipelagic and Island States Summit (KTT) Gala Dinner or AIS Forum 2023 presents Indonesian culture, namely the Pendet Dance, in front of delegates from the world’s island and archipelagic countries.
In his speech, President Jokowi stated how important the 2023 AIS Forum Summit was to further strengthen collaboration.
“This forum is to strengthen collaboration between all island countries because the sea is our life, the sea unites our people,” he said.
Apart from that, according to him, the sea also contains a lot of resources so they need to be protected together.
“The sea also contains a lot of resources that we must protect with all responsibility,” said the Head of State.
“Let’s strengthen our friendly relations and enjoy this evening,” he concluded
President Jokowi arrived at Ngurah Rai Airport at around 17:00 WITA, Tuesday (10/10) and was welcomed by a number of ministers and regional officials. After that, he immediately took a car to Nusa Dua.
Then the Head of State welcomed all the delegations along with high-ranking officials from other countries who attended the 2023 AIS Forum Summit gala dinner.
It was recorded that the five highest state leaders were present in person, namely the President of Micronesia, Prime Minister of Niue, Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe, Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, and Prime Minister of Tuvalu.
Three countries sent officials at the level of Deputy Minister or Director General or Secretary General, namely Cabo Verde, New Zealand and Madagascar. Then 11 countries sent ambassadors, namely Ireland, Japan, Cyprus, Samoa, Malta, England, Saint Lucia, Cook Island, Philippines, Suriname and Bahrain.
Meanwhile, Fiji and Tonga sent Deputy Prime Ministers. Eight countries sent ministers, namely the Maldives, Marshall Islands, Palau, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea.
Meanwhile, the four international organizations that sent representatives were the Melanesian Cooperation Group (MSG), the Pacific Island Countries Forum (PIF), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Regarding security, the Cordon Troop, which consists of the best military soldiers from the Indonesian Army, is tasked with guarding state protocols.
All guests were also welcomed in the traditional way, namely with the Pendet Dance, which is a typical Balinese welcoming dance.
The implementation of the AIS Summit itself has resulted in a number of concrete collaborations. Among them is the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) and Padjadjaran University together with the University of Toliara Madagascar.
Regarding this, the Chancellor of the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB), Arif Satria, said that this collaboration had an important meaning in strengthening the implementation of the AIS forum cooperation in dealing with a number of issues.
“I think what is very important for us is that the blue economy can be an effective vehicle for safeguarding the future of island and island countries, so this is a very good opportunity to strengthen cooperation,” he said.
