Bangladesh co-hosts seminar on blue economy in Lisbon

Press Release

Lisbon, 29 June 2022:

Bangladesh along with some other countries co-hosted the side event titled “Fostering international and regional cooperation in support of the sustainable development of the blue economy in LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS” organized by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) today (29 June 2022) on the side-lines of the 2nd UN Ocean Conference being held in Lisbon, Portugal.

Secretary of the Maritime Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, Rear Admiral (Retd.) Md. Khurshed Alam, BN co-chaired the panel discussions. Vice-President of Tanzania, Foreign and Tourism Minister of Tonga, Minister of International Development of Norway, other Ministers, high representatives and experts from the member states also attended this event.    

In his delivery, Rear Admiral Khurshed Alam remarked that oceans and seas are the potential and versatile resource-frontiers for the humankind, which remained under-explored and unexploited. Through a blue economy approach, humankind can harness untapped resources that can be useful in tackling poverty, food insecurity, unemployment, energy crisis and ecological imbalances towards strengthening sustainable development process. He emphasized the need of fostering international and regional cooperation to develop strategies in support of the sustainable development of the blue economy in LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS. He elaborated that states and organizations in developing regions may not have the capacity to develop and manage their own shared marine resources, as they lack the necessary information, expertise or the financial capacity to follow through with planning and operations. External assistance can be valuable, and sometimes essential, in establishing shared international marine resources arrangements.

Panellists opined that regional and international cooperation is crucial to develop marine scientific knowledge and research capacity to leverage the benefits offered by the blue economy. They remarked that transfer of technology can create enabling conditions in the LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS states to participate effectively in existing and emerging ocean sectors of the blue economy. Representatives also viewed strongly that strategic partnership is necessary for harnessing the benefits of blue economy.

The seminar was wrapped with commitments to forging wider regional and international cooperation, devising mechanism for technology transfer and financing blue economy.