"Hopefully, this cooperation will drive the development of Indonesia's maritime and fisheries sector, where community welfare is improving and ecology is well-maintained,” Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said here on Tuesday.
The cooperation is also aimed at maintaining the sustainability of marine ecosystems based on blue economy principles.
The maritime cooperation is contained in the Implementing Arrangement (IA) document signed circularly on July 26, 2022, by Minister Trenggono in Jakarta and China's Minister of Natural Resources Wang Guanghua in Beijing.
The cooperation covers joint technical cooperation in relevant areas in the maritime sector, integrated coastal management, mitigation, and adaptation in coasts and small islands, blue economy development, as well as human resources capacity.
It also covers sharing information and knowledge on the maritime sector, such as through formal and vocational education, joint symposia, seminars, workshops, training, and exchanges of experts.
The signing of the IA document between the ministries has launched a new chapter of maritime cooperation between the two countries after an earlier agreement expired in 2016.
Based on data, the trade balance of Indonesian fishery products exchange with China recorded a surplus in 2018–2022.
In the first half of 2022, the export value of Indonesian fishery products reached US$485 million, while the import value reached US$56 million.
Earlier, an MoU on strengthening maritime cooperation between the governments of Indonesia and China was signed on June 5, 2021, by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The MoU covered economic, trade, political, security, and defense cooperation, including the eradication of IUU (illegal, unreported, and unregulated) fishing, aquaculture (fisheries cultivation) cooperation, fisheries products processing, cold storage, and marketing, as well as cooperation in technology and knowledge transfer.
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Translator: M Rahman, Kenzu T
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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