Nusa Dua, Bali (ANTARA) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) invited participating countries of the Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum to continue to collaborate in responding to various global challenges.
According to Jokowi, all archipelagic and island countries, whether large or small, developed or developing, are facing challenges, such as rising sea levels, marine resource management, and marine pollution.
"If we throw rubbish on land, it does not necessarily mean that the rubbish will move to land in another part of the world. However, if we throw rubbish into the ocean, the rubbish can reach any land in the world," he stated during the opening of the 1st High-Level Meeting of the AIS Forum here on Wednesday.
To this end, Jokowi remarked that collaboration and solidarity between archipelagic and island countries are crucial to creating strategic, concrete, and tactical measures for resolving shared problems.
The high-level meeting, which is the first one of its kind to be held since the forum was formed in 2018, is deemed an important opportunity to set the direction of collaboration going forward.
In this regard, President Jokowi encouraged to drive advancement in three aspects: solidarity, equality, and inclusivity as principles that must be held together; priority on concrete cooperation that is adjusted to the needs of beneficiary countries; and third, robust and dynamic cooperation framework to respond to challenges going forward.
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Indonesia is hosting the 1st High-Level Meeting of the AIS Forum, which is attended by 30 countries out of 51 AIS countries and four international organizations.
At the head-of-state level, Indonesia noted the participation of President of the Federated States of Micronesia Wesley Simina, Prime Minister of Timor-Leste Xanana Gusmao, the Premier of Niue Dalton Tagelagi, Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe Patrice Emery Trovoada, and Prime Minister of Tuvalu Kausea Natano.
Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji Manoa Seru Nakausabaria Kamikamica and Deputy Prime Minister of Tonga Samiu Kuita Vaipulu were also in attendance at the meeting.
Meanwhile, delegations of other countries are led by ministers, deputy ministers, high-ranking officials, and ambassadors during the high-level meeting.
Implementation of the high-level meeting focuses on the strengthening of cooperation for tackling four global issues: climate change mitigation and adaptation, the blue economy, the handling of ocean plastic pollution, and maritime governance.
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