CIDCA chairman hosts welcome banquet for guests attending 3rd China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Blue Economy Development Cooperation 

On Dec 15, 2024, Chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) Luo Zhaohui held a welcome banquet for guests attending the third China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Blue Economy Development Cooperation in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan province.

President of the Senate of Barbados Reginald Farley and Vice-President of the Maldives Hussain Mohamed Latheef attended the event, while Governor of Yunnan Wang Yubo delivered a welcome speech. 

In his remarks, Luo said that marine ecology contains abundant resources and poses huge potential for development. Eighty percent of global trade is carried out through the sea, and 40 percent of the global population lives in coastal areas. With the development of economic globalization and regional economic integration, the importance of the ocean has become increasingly prominent, and the development of blue economy has become a common pursuit of the international community, he said. Pointing out that blue economy is marine economy plus green economy, Luo said that implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the widest consensus reached within the UN family, is a common responsibility for all parties.

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative covers cooperation along the Maritime Silk Road and China has carried out a large number of bilateral and multilateral maritime cooperation projects with countries in the Indian Ocean region, Luo said. The forum was another joint effort to advance blue economy cooperation in the region, he added. The UN 2030 SDGs stresses leaving no one behind. Given the current geopolitical situation and climate change, small island countries face harsher situations and deserve more attention. That is why Barbados and the Maldives joined to co-host the forum with China this year, he said. China is ready to work hand in hand with the international community to make the Indian Ocean a sea of blue economy, of prosperous development for all countries, and of cultural integration, he concluded.

Wang said that Yunnan is the province in China that is closest to the Indian Ocean. With support from the CIDCA, Yunnan has steadily advanced the construction of the Belt and Road southbound New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, he said, adding that the province is ready to work with all parties to continue to deepen cooperation in blue economy and blue disaster prevention and reduction in the Indian Ocean region, and jointly make contributions to more robust, greener and healthier global development.

The forum was jointly organized by the CIDCA, the Yunnan provincial government, the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources of the Maldives, and the Ministry of Environment and National Beautification, Green and Blue Economy of Barbados. Thirty-one officials at or above the vice-ministerial level, as well as more than 300 representatives from 27 countries, 24 regional and international organizations, 24 financial institutions and enterprises, 19 research institutions and over 20 media outlets, attended the event.