PM seeks enhanced maritime cooperation among IORA nations
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) leaders to dedicate themselves to strengthening maritime cooperation for a peaceful and prosperous Indian Ocean, exploring seas for common benefit of the region having coastlines with the world's third largest ocean.
"Let's set sail together," she said delivering her statement in the general debate on "Strengthening Maritime Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous Indian Ocean Rim" at the IORA Leaders' Summit at Jakarta Convention Centre in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.
The premier particularly proposed setting up of a maritime university in Bangladesh to be called Indian Ocean Technical and Vocational University to create a pool of skilled mariners for the region adding Dhaka considered IORA as a "natural habitat for "our efforts to project our aspirations jointly with the nations of the region and beyond".
"Our quest for development through oceans and seas is a part of our larger efforts to transform Bangladesh along with the rim countries. Let's dedicate ourselves to strengthening maritime cooperation for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indian Ocean," she said.
She said being a littoral country of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean Bangladesh firmly believed that future economic prosperity, food security and social well-being largely depend on sustainable use of its marine resources.
"As such, we integrated SDG-14 in our 7th Five Year Plan and renewed our focus towards blue economy," the Bangladesh premier said adding "the peaceful delimitation of Bangladesh's maritime boundary with both of its neighbours ushered in a new era of economic opportunities for us".
Sheikh Hasina also called upon the IORA leaders to ensure safety and rights of mariners and other oceangoing professionals saying despite their global reputation for skills and dedicated workmanship, seamen and marine engineers sometimes face unwarranted challenges.
"Our ability to reap economic benefits from the ocean depends largely on our capacity to rise above the challenges in the maritime domain," she said.
The prime minister said Indian Ocean was of paramount significance for global security, connectivity, peace and prosperity while "it constitutes the lifeline of our globalised world providing passage to half of its container ships, one third of the bulk cargo traffic and two thirds of its oil shipments".
She thanked IORA leadership for adopting the IORA Concord and its Action Plan for strengthening maritime partnership.
"If blue economy were to guide our economics in future then we should use our seas to promote friendship and curb tension in the region, respect freedom of navigation and cooperate through the mechanism of IORA," she said.
"Blue Economy is now the common interest of all IORA member states," Sheikh Hasina said.