The 4th ASEAN-India Workshop on Blue Economy was successfully held on 1516 December 2022 in New Delhi, India. With the theme “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability,” the workshop highlighted the importance of collective action to ensure the sustainable and rules-based use and management of oceans, seas, and their resources.
In the workshop, participants shared experiences and ideas on the sustainable exploitation and harnessing of marine resources, combating marine debris, promoting coastal and marine tourism, and sustainable maritime connectivity. They noted some positive developments at the regional level, such as ongoing efforts to establish an In the workshop, participants shared experiences and ideas on the sustainable exploitation and harnessing of marine resources, combating marine debris, promoting coastal and marine tourism, and sustainable maritime connectivity. They noted some positive developments at the regional level, such as ongoing efforts to establish an ASEAN Network for Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and the adoption of the Bangkok Declaration on Combating Marine Debris and the ASEAN Framework of Action on Marine Debris.
The workshop is consistent with the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on the Blue Economy (2021) in which they committed to pursue a “greater understanding of the blue economy through workshops and seminars, research and education, capacity building and training, and sharing of information and best practices.” In the declaration, the ASEAN Leaders also committed to explore cooperation on the blue economy with relevant stakeholders and to ensure that any cooperation is in accordance with international law, such as the UN Charter and the 1982 UNCLOS.
Blue economy and maritime cooperation continue to be key areas of partnership between India and ASEAN. These were stated in the Joint Statement on ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership adopted in November 2022.
Three previous workshops on the blue economy had been convened: in 2017 in Vietnam, in 2018 in New Delhi, and in 2019 in Bangkok. The fourth workshop was jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs of India and Indonesia’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the ASEAN-India Centre, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, and the National Maritime Foundation. The workshop was keynoted by Secretary Saurabh Kumar of India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
