Kunming Joint Press Statement of China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation

Kunming Joint Press Statement of China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation

The China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development  Cooperation was held in hybrid way under the theme of "Shared Development: Theory and Practice from the Perspective of the Blue Economy" in Kunming, Yunnan Province on November 21, 2022. High-level representatives of 19 countries, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Djibouti, Australia and representatives of 3 international organizations were present.

All parties reviewed the current severe challenges facing marine ecology and marine economic recovery and development, as well as recent positive progress made in the development and international cooperation in relevant fields. In the meantime, they also had an in-depth exchange of views and reached broad consensus on how to further implement "United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development" and unleash the potential of blue economy, deepen development cooperation, and jointly promote global development.

All parties expressed deep concern over Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, increasing disaster risks, marine biodiversity loss, marine pollution, and their impact on economic and social stability and development that countries in the region have suffered. They believed that proper protection and use of marine resources plays a vital role in building a sustainable future. Besides, they emphasized that it is necessary to strengthen policy coordination, deepen development cooperation, increase resilience to shocks and disasters, and enhance relevant countries' capacity to obtain economic benefits through use of marine resources such as fisheries, renewable energy, tourism, and shipping in a sustainable way.

All parties appreciated China' s support for setting up China-Africa Satellite Remote Sensing Application Center, and providing training for personnel in the field of blue economy to countries in need. They stressed that response to Covid-19, climate change, ocean governance and other non-traditional security issues requires concerted efforts of all countries in the World. Moreover, they encouraged all countries and all sectors to jointly address non-traditional security challenges and participate in global development cooperation, so as to forge a united, equal, balanced and inclusive global development partnership.

All stakeholders were invited to foster an enabling environment for sustainable Ocean protection and blue economy development. Furthermore, developed countries and multilateral development institutions were encouraged to better align their official development assistance with the needs of developing countries and provide more resources for sustainable global development. Meanwhile, all parties were ready to further strengthen and expand South-South cooperation among developing countries as a supplement to North-South cooperation. All parties expressed readiness to work with each other to practice true multilateralism and achieve a stronger, greener and healthier global development, and to facilitate the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

China proposed to establish a marine disaster prevention and mitigation cooperation mechanism between China and countries in the Indian Ocean region, and stood ready to provide necessary financial, material, and technical support to countries in need. On top of that, China also proposed the establishment of a blue economy think tank network for China and countries in the Indian Ocean region with the support of Yunnan. These proposals were welcomed by all participants who were willing to support the establishment of a cooperation mechanism for disaster prevention and mitigation, and join the think tank network.

All parties thanked China for hosting this China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation, spoke highly of the positive role of Global Development Initiative (GDI) in promoting global development and expected institutional holding of this forum. A few countries expressed their readiness to host the next China-Indian Ocean Region Forum.