20th ASEAN-India summit in Jakarta: 2 sides to join forces on blue economy, maritime security

This was declared in a joint statement released after the meeting.

The joint statement on maritime cooperation comes amid New Delhi’s focus on maritime domain awareness and security in recent years. It said ASEAN and India have decided to promote cooperation and coordination between maritime authorities and law enforcement agencies through dialogue, exchange of expertise and capacity building and explore cooperation on sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources.

The two sides also agreed to promote cooperation in the Blue Economy in areas of sustainable development of marine resources, marine biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, combating climate change and marine pollution, promoting green and efficient maritime transport and developing new and renewable energy, including marine-based renewable energy, among others.

Ensuring seamless connectivity in the Indo-Pacific by collaborating for quality, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, fostering greater engagement of private sector, tourism industry, MSMEs, coastal communities, financial institutions, the youth and scientific community and academia in promotion of Blue Economy and development of maritime infrastructure including maritime industries focusing in areas of fisheries and ship building was also agreed upon between the two.

The statement included points such as encouraging innovation in Blue Economy through activities such as holding hackathons, start-up festivals and joint research for promoting knowledge sharing and capacity building and encouraging sustainable and eco-tourism while promoting cruise and sea-based tourism.