The ASEAN requires a new growth machine to boost the prosperity of people, he noted during the ASEAN Blue Economy Forum 2023 in Tanjung Pandan, Bangka Belitung Islands on Monday.
Despite the fact that ASEAN's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 10.3 percent during the 2016-2021 period, blue economy was applied only to improve the economy of ASEAN members, with middle-to-low-income status.
In 2021, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam were five ASEAN countries with middle-to-low-income status.
In addition, three countries in the middle- to upper-income category -- Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand -- are still trapped in the middle-income status for 13 years. Only Brunei Darussalam and Singapore have achieved a high-income status.
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Due of this, the transition to blue economy provides an opportunity to encourage GDP growth while also supporting the achievement of various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the ASEAN, Monoarfa stated.
Blue economy is no longer just viewed as a collective effort for ASEAN member countries to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 but also as ASEAN's new growth machine, he affirmed.
Under Indonesia's chairmanship in ASEAN 2023, the country is committed to achieving the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework as one of the priority economic results in 2023.
The ASEAN waters make up 2.5 percent of the world's oceans. In ASEAN alone, the water area encompasses 66 percent of the total water area.
Moreover, the waters of Southeast Asia contribute to 15 percent of global fisheries, and 625 million people work in sea-related sectors.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimated that the global ocean economy's output in value-added will rise by two folds in 20 years, specifically, from US$1.5 trillion in 2010 to US$3 trillion in 2030, he stated.
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Translator: M Baqir I A, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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