Indian Council of World Affairs

Distinguished Experts and Scholars!

• Blue economy is one of the key topics associated with the maritime domain. It covers wide expanse of activities related to oceans, seas, and coasts extending from maritime trade, the naval industry, fisheries, marine technology and scientific research, to integrated coastal management, marine eco-tourism, inland waterways, ocean based renewable energy, marine biotechnology, port development, etc.
  
  
• Blue Economy also aligns with the UN agenda 2030, SDG 14 on ‘life under sea’ which emphasizes “conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development” and this captures the essence of Blue Economy. It serves as the guiding principle for ocean governance, sustainable use of ocean resources, and for promoting international cooperation in the area.
  
  
• Indian Ocean as the third largest water body, covering about 20% of the earth’s surface and having abundant natural resources is vital from the perspective of the Blue Economy.
  
  
• IORA which has completed 28 years of its existence connects three continents: Asia, Africa and Australia, and binds a diverse set of countries in the Indian Ocean region in a sense of a regional maritime community and a shared maritime space. IORA plays an important role in institutionalizing engagements, strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian Ocean region. Today’s discussion is being held to mark the occasion of IORA Day which falls on 7^th March every year. Blue economy is one of the cross cutting areas agreed to by IORA along with its six priority areas. Later this year, India will be assuming the chairmanship of IORA for the period 2025-27. India has played an active role in IORA since its inception. As the Vice-Chair for 2023-25, it has worked closely with the Sri Lankan Chairmanship on consolidating and streamlining efforts to advance IORA’s objectives.
  
  
• It is in the interest of IORA Member States to work together for a stable and secure maritime order in the region, for maintaining good order at sea. Global commons too need cooperative approaches for their protection, management, nurturing and making them crime-free. Given the ongoing geopolitical shifts and turbulence in the Indo-Pacific, working on cooperative solutions to traditional and non-traditional security challenges is bound to be a priority for IORA during India’s chairmanship. Taking India’s role as a first responder, a development partner and a net security provider to IORA would be a logical progression of its Neighbourhood First policy, SAGAR vision, IPOI initiative and India’s commitment to multilateral approaches.
  
  
• At the same time, India as the chair would have to advance the blue economy objectives of IORA. IORA must work to enable Member States and Dialogue Partners to harness their collective knowledge, expertise, research, capacity building, investments, resources regarding ocean-based economies to collectively address the opportunities that blue economy can bring to the countries of the region in a sustainable manner. It is to be examined whether India’s own growth story is getting translated into the growth of its blue economy sector through initiatives such as the Sagarmala project and whether this can prove to be a growth engine for the IORA blue economy through inter-dependencies.
  
  
• Under India’s Chairmanship, we hope to see a further strengthening of cooperation within the grouping for greater security and prosperity of the IOR and for making the Indian Ocean a free, open and inclusive space. India’s chairmanship will seek to address challenges stemming from climate change, marine pollution, overfishing and IUU fishing, overexploitation of resources of the ocean and biodiversity losses. As I said, India’s own initiatives like SAGAR and IPOI aim towards collective security and growth by encouraging countries to cooperate and synergize efforts towards a safe, secure and stable maritime domain and towards meaningful steps for its conservation and sustainable use.
  
  
• It is to discuss how to advance the blue economy agenda within IORA and what should be the priorities of the Indian Chairmanship in this regard that we have put together an excellent panel today of eminent experts. I look forward to an engaging and lively discussion and I wish the panelists all the best.

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