On October 24th, the East Asia Marine Cooperation Platform Dialogue was held at the West Coast New Area of Qingdao, as an important segment of the 2024 Marine Cooperation and Development Forum. The event attracted nearly 500 marine experts, scholars, and institutional representatives from around the world to discuss sustainable marine development and explore global cooperation in areas such as marine mechanism construction and ecological governance.
Ahmed Shiyam, the Maldives Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, emphasized in his opening remarks that the challenges facing the oceans transcend borders, necessitating cooperation among different countries and regions. “We are very interested in working with all nations to responsibly utilize marine resources and ensure ecological balance,” he stated.
Vladimir Ryabinin, the former Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, expressed that humanity must govern the oceans scientifically. He pointed out that oceans possess different characteristics based on their geographical context. “This dialogue is a platform for promoting marine cooperation. I hope all parties can leverage this forum to elevate the development of marine environment monitoring, biodiversity protection, and marine economy,” he added.
The “Ocean Decade” initiative, launched by the United Nations, serves as a global marine development cooperation project. Located in the West Coast New Area of Qingdao, the “Ocean Decade” International Cooperation Center is China’s only international platform dedicated to coordinating and fully implementing the Ocean Decade efforts. During the dialogue, Zhan Yongxin, President of the China Pacific Economic Cooperation National Committee, proposed several suggestions including promoting high-quality development in marine industries under the banner of building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future.
At the conference, the “Ocean Decade” International Cooperation Center was approved as a United Nations “Ocean Decade” implementation partner (DIP) and launched the first batch of co-established international institutions. The center also released the “New Proposal for the Ocean Decade in China,” the “Join the ‘Blue Circular Economy’ Global Initiative for a Shared Ocean Future,” and the “East Asia Blue Cooperation Declaration and Commitment.”
The dialogue was hosted by the Shandong Provincial Department of Natural Resources, the Shandong Provincial Oceanic Administration, and the Qingdao West Coast New Area Management Committee, with the “Ocean Decade” International Cooperation Center as the organizer. The theme of the dialogue was “The Ocean Decade: Coexistence,” and it was structured around four thematic chapters: “Co-Building,” “Co-Sharing,” “Co-Consultation,” and “Co-Winning.”
