3rd China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Blue Economy Development Cooperation concludes in Kunming

The third China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Blue Economy Development Cooperation concluded in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan province, on Dec 16. President of the Senate of Barbados Reginald Farley, Vice-President of the Maldives Hussain Mohamed Latheef, Chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) Luo Zhaohui, and Sun Shuxian, vice-minister of natural resources and director of the State Oceanic Administration of China, attended the closing ceremony.

The Global Development Project Pool Information Management System is launched.

The China-Indian Ocean Region Maritime Cooperation and Training Center is unveiled.

Zhao Fengtao, vice-chairman of the CIDCA, said that this year's forum focused on blue development, connected the present with the future, drew a new blueprint for cooperation and exchanges in the Indian Ocean region and the Global South, and injected new impetus into the building of a maritime community with a shared future. 

All participants agreed that this forum sent a strong message of the era for common development, and demonstrated practical actions for win-win cooperation, he said. China is ready to work with all parties to advance the integrated implementation and alignment of the Global Development Initiative, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, and the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for small island developing countries, and translate the consensus of the forum on jointly building a blue economy, a sea of prosperity and development and a sea of inter-civilization integration into concrete actions, so as to add impetus to the economies of all countries and bring benefits to the people, he added.

Zhao Fengtao, vice-chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, delivers a speech.

Vice-Governor of Yunnan Wang Zhengying noted that Yunnan, as a major channel open to the Indian Ocean Rim and one of China’s provinces closest to the Indian Ocean, has organized the forum for three years running. Yunnan will continue to tap its geographical advantages and provide an important platform for regional sustainable development, in a bid to contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, he said. 

Vice-Governor of Yunnan Wang Zhengying delivers a speech.

High Representative of the Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh Khalilur Rahman, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development of Sri Lanka K. M. Mahinda Siriwardena, and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in China Beate Trankmann all lauded the forum as timely and relevant to the present global situation. The Indian Ocean has always been a cradle of trade and culture, and the blue economy is the path to shared prosperity, they said. The forum served as a platform for strengthening partnerships and unleashing the potential of the blue economy, where China's development experience provided valuable references for the world, especially for countries in the Indian Ocean region, they said. All parties should implement the development consensus reached at the forum and take decisive and inclusive actions to ensure that the Indian Ocean region becomes a beacon of sustainable development, in a bid to make a greater contribution to a cleaner, more beautiful and more prosperous Indian Ocean for the younger generation, they added.

At the closing ceremony, representatives from the China (Yunnan) Free Trade Zone Working Office, China's National Disaster Reduction Center, and the Ocean University of China reported the outcomes of the government-enterprise dialogue, sub-forums and roundtables. The Global Development Project Pool Information Management System was launched and the China-Indian Ocean Region Maritime Cooperation and Training Center was unveiled. The ceremony also saw the signing of cooperation documents on projects between China and the UNDP on climate information early warning systems in Pakistan and the Maldives.