The minister noted that strengthening multilateral cooperation through the forum is essential to respond to various crises, including climate change and rising sea levels, marine pollution, and biodiversity loss.
"Indonesia and all of us are choosing the right tool, are choosing the right path of cooperation, solidarity, and inclusivity," Marsudi remarked while opening the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the AIS Forum here on Tuesday.
"This is an urgent time for us, as archipelagic and island states, to stand in solidarity and work together," she stated.
To achieve the goal, she called for efforts to ensure solidarity between archipelagic and island countries to respond to shared challenges.
"AIS Forum must continue to produce innovative efforts to ensure the sustainability of our ocean in addressing the triple planetary crisis," she remarked.
The minister emphasized that the forum should be able to create concrete cooperation for the four key areas of climate change mitigation and adaptation, blue economy and ecotourism, marine and coastal plastic debris, and good maritime governance.
She expressed hope that the AIS Forum would engage intensively with other relevant forums across the regions to strengthen its governance and impact.
"The AIS Forum must continue to develop to become a bridge of common efforts in connecting open-ended and inclusive development framework and transform initiatives into realities," she affirmed.
Indonesia will host the 1st High-Level Meeting of the AIS Forum on October 11, 2023, in Nusa Dua, Bali.
Marsudi assessed that the high-level meeting, which is scheduled to be opened by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), will be a landmark that lays the foundation for synergizing solutions in tackling global challenges
The high-level meeting, which raises the themes of the Blue Economy; Our Ocean, Our Future; and Solidarity, will be attended by 29 countries out of a total of 51 countries of the AIS Forum as well as four international organizations.
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Translator: Yashinta Difa, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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