Blue economy, an emerging concept that encourages better management of our ocean resources, has been identified as a key strategic and inclusive model that coastal states can adopt in order to better facilitate sustainable economic growth trajectories.
While inaugurating the 3rd IORA Blue Economy Ministerial Conference at Hotel InterContinental Dhaka on Thursday Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called upon the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) member states to build a unified sustainable blue economic belt in this region by making best use of the untapped resources of the sea.
It has been noted rightly that oceans have plentiful resources that need to be tapped judiciously to make our economy grow. The bounty of nature lies in abundance but we do not have adequate survey to learn and identify maritime resources and so the country has not been able to harness the full potential of its ocean resources. We believe the 3rd IORA Blue Economy Ministerial Conference has opened up new opportunities for the IORA member states to collaborate and efficiently manage and utilize the ocean resources under the blue economy policy through sharing knowledge and experience among them.
We believe the 3rd IORA conference has opened up
new opportunities for the member states to
collaborate and efficiently manage and utilize
the ocean resources under the blue economy
policy through sharing knowledge and experience among them
There is an abundance of resources under the blue ocean which can serve us for generations. It needs no emphasizing that Safe and environmentally sustainable extraction of sea resources will make a remarkable contribution to the wellbeing of our future generations and sustainable economic growth. Also successful extraction of ocean resources can help the country eradicate poverty, ensure food security and generate sustainable as well as inclusive employments.
We must nurture what we have and in order to do that we need to learn and identify the amount of resources available in the sea. In this regard, intervention of new technology and support of adequate and quality research are pertinent. If we are truly looking at the promotion of sustainable and inclusive growth that could open up employment opportunities, then it is time we let the experts take the lead. They need to identify what economic opportunities exist for member nations and instruct the respective governments to incorporate various projects for exploiting ocean resources and enhancing maritime logistics that will open up opportunities in coastal shipping and connectivity.
