Bangka, Bangka Belitung (ANTARA) - The Bangka Belitung (Babel) Islands Provincial Government is preparing satam stone craft as a special souvenir for delegates of the ASEAN Blue Economy ministerial-level meeting scheduled on July 1-4, 2023, on Belitung Island.
"We have visited Belitung satam stone craftsmen to prepare to feature a special souvenir for the upcoming ASEAN Blue Economy Forum Geoventure," Babel Island Acting Governor Suganda Pandapotan Pasaribu noted in Belitung, Friday.
Pasaribu remarked that the international activity will be held in the districts of Belitung and East Belitung on July 1-4, 2023, and will be attended by 300 multinational delegates. The province is expected to make the most of the event to promote its tourism beauty and typical craft, he affirmed.
"Hopefully, the international event will yield concrete benefits for the province's local residents, particularly those who run micro, small, medium, enterprises (MSMEs) and tourism businesses," the governor pointed out.
This year, Indonesia holds the chairmanship of ASEAN, and it has adopted the theme of "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth" to reflect its goal of making ASEAN important and relevant as the world's growth center.
At the 42nd ASEAN Summit held on May 9-11 in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, the bloc's leaders produced several important documents, including the Declaration on Advancing Regional Payment Connectivity and Promoting Local Currency Transactions and the Declaration on the Establishment of an ASEAN Villages Network.
Firman, a satam stone craftsman, welcomed the ASEAN Blue Economy meeting and expressed readiness for preparing the finest satam stones for the meeting's delegates.
"We are keen to welcome the event, and we will exert our best efforts to cater to the needs of the delegates. I would also like to thank Mr. Acting Governor for visiting and trusting us," he stated.
Belitung District Head Sahani, for his part, affirmed that the district government will feature various activities to welcome the ASEAN Blue Economy meeting.
The holding of the ministerial-level meeting will coincide with the anniversary of Tanjungpandan City. To this end, the district government will organize an exhibition to supplement the festivity of the meeting.
"Previously, we had already held the ASEAN 2023 activity in Belitung for both the junior and senior levels. In addition to the blue economy, we offered the green economy during the activity," he pointed out.
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