Indonesia is a big country and with its proven potential in fisheries and maritime sectors ..."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia will cooperate with Norway and Denmark to give a push to innovation in the maritime sector, Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Susi Pudjiastuti said here on Monday.

"Indonesia is a big country and with its proven potential in fisheries and maritime sectors, it will have cooperation with Norway and Denmark," she told a conference on Indonesian maritime innovation here.

She noted that the two Scandinavian countries are known as pioneers in the maritime field technology. The cooperation will help support the fishery industry through environment-friendly scientific and technological innovations.

She noted that sustainability is one of the aspects promoted by the Indonesian Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs.

This conference is expected to lead to cooperation with companies operating in the fisheries and maritime sectors in these countries. The conference is held concurrently with the ministrys monthly investment forum.

"I am glad that Norway and Denmark could participate today in the marine and fisheries business and investment forum that we hold every month," Minister Susi underlined.

Their participation came as a follow up to the visits undertaken by the representatives of the governments of Denmark and Norway to Jakarta last year and the invitation to the embassies of Denmark and Norway for the forum in January 2016.

The two European countries are expected to support Indonesias plan to develop its infrastructure and facilities in the catch fishery, marine surveillance, cold chain system and processing industry.

"With the help of Norway and Denmark, we will be able to develop the Indonesian fisheries and marine development sector to achieve the Indonesian governments vision of becoming a maritime country," Susi noted.

Thirty-three companies from Denmark and Norway, which attended the conference, would offer business and investment cooperation to the Indonesian government and businesses, including state-owned and private businesses in the fisheries and maritime sector.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs and the Ministry of Transportation are also scheduled to sign cooperation agreements as part of the efforts to eradicate fish poaching by empowering the national fishing fleets.

Among the forms of cooperation that have been agreed upon is optimizing the implementation of tasks and functions of parties to expedite the process of measuring again the size of fishing boats and ensuring integrated licensing.

As a follow up to the signing of the cooperation pact, a joint decree of ministers of fisheries and maritime affairs and transportation to ensure one-stop administrative service will be issued.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi stressed that he hoped the cooperation with the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs would be able to help realize a new system in the transportation sector in the country, especially in the fisheries and maritime sectors.

(Reported by Muhammad Razi Rahman/Uu.H-YH/INE/KR-BSR/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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