SPEECH OF CHIEF GUEST

DR AK ABDUL MOMEN, MP

HON’BLE MINISTER, MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

INTERNATIONAL WEBINAR BY BSMRMU

10 DECEMBER 2020, 0900 HRS

BLUE ECONOMY IN POST COVID-19 ERA: RESILIENCE STRATEGIES FOR THE COASTAL STATES

·         Special Guest Barrister MohibulHasan Chowdhury, MP, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education

·         Dr Richard R Vuylsteke, President, East West Center, Hawaii

·         Today’s host the Vice Chancellor, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University

·         Learned speakers and panelists from both home and abroad

·         Distinguished members from the Diplomatic Corps

·         Senior Govt Officials, Academicians, Marine Professionals, My Dear Students of BSMRMU

·          Ladies and Gentlemen

Assalamu Alaikum, Peace be upon you.

1.         It is indeed, a matter of great honour and privilege for me to be present here in this webinar on a very pertinent and timely issue related to “Blue Economy in post Covid 19 Era: Resilience Strategies for the Coastal States”. I thank the Vice chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University (BSMRMU) Rear Admiral Khaled Iqbal for inviting me to join online here today and interact with such esteemed intellectuals and academicians on maritime related affairs from home and abroad. We are particularly delighted to get amongst us our distinguished guests from few renowned Institutions from Hawaii, USA; the President East West Centre, Director Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies and University of Hawaii at Hilo. This clearly shows excellent bilateral cooperation and partnership between United States and Bangladesh in our journey towards prosperity and development.

Dear audience,

2.         Bangladesh, as a littoral state, has been a hub of maritime activities for centuries whereas the Bay of Bengal plays a pivotal role in our trade and commerce with the outside world. At the very outset, I would like to pay tribute to the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the occasion of his birth centenary; who aptly emphasized about the enormous importance of the endless sea and water resources for the development of Bangladesh. He enacted the Territorial Waters and Maritime Zones Act 1974, much before the UN’ ITLOS in 1982; which laid the foundation for our maritime rights and responsibilities. Born in riverine Bangladesh, Bangabandhu had an unfathomable love and caring attention for the betterment of the lives of the riverine and coastal population. His visionary leadership has given us an independent Bangladesh with a strong foundation of democratic values and a lofty aspiration for peace, progress and development. His able daughter, the Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina proudly rekindled the dream of Bangabandhu among our entire nation and carried forward the flame along the great highway of development. With her prudent and dynamic leadership, Bangladesh has amicably resolved the delimitation of the maritime boundary with its neighbours India and Myanmar and attained undisputed sovereignty over a huge maritime area of 118, 813 sq km in the Bay of Bengal. We have firmly set our course towards Vision 2041 to become an industrial, digital and prosperous country by 2041. In the last several years, we have witnessed massive infrastructural developments and innumerable mega projects while maintaining steady economic growth, drawing admiration from all around the world. In the blue economy sectors like ports & shipping to marine aquaculture, ship-building to ship recycling, hydrocarbon to marine bio-technology, maritime tourism to maritime education, in fact all the potential maritime sectors were being developed, nurtured and rejuvenated in order to ensure proper utilisation of our maritime resources. At the same time, adequate implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-2030) and Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 related to the management of Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta and climate change resilience will stand our country in good stead for the future generations.

3.         However, the recent onslaught of pandemic Coronavirus has cast a shadow of pale and frustration in the progress of global civilization and predicts an uncertain economic gloom and downturn in the global trade and commerce. As such it is high time that we try to ascertain the possible impact of the pandemic on this very important sector of blue economy and find ways to bounce back for the overall economic recovery. I can confidently mention that amidst the gloomy days of pandemic with initial interruption of global supply chain, our government has taken successful measures for containing the virus on one hand and gradually opening the country’s economic lifeline on the other. We should also keep in mind that our ocean could also be one of the resource frontiers in the recovery process from pandemic. Therefore, maximum utilization of Blue Economy is the key in our strides to overcome the adverse effects of pandemic.  

4.         We should not also lose focus of the fact that the oceans are both an engine for global economic growth and a key source of food security. But the oceans are coming under increased pressure from population growth, abuse of waters, global competition for raw materials, food demand, water scarcity, maritime security threats, climate change and marine pollution. These multiple challenges and other geo-economic and geo-strategic factors require an integrated response and an urgent transition of the world economy towards a sustainable, inclusive and resource efficient path through adopting the concept of blue economy.

5.         Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a very important time for Bangladesh when we are witnessing remarkable development in social and economic indicators with substantial investment in regional connectivity, deep sea ports, special economic zones, coastal industries and offshore oil and gas exploration.  Bangladesh should aim at developing an inclusive and people-centric Blue Economy enhancing capacity-building with innovative financing, ensuring the transfer of critical technology and strengthening cross-sectoral partnerships and collaboration with other maritime nations. We should also design the ocean governance policies for effective utilization of maritime realm and sustainable use of coastal and marine resources reducing the risk of irreversible damage to the marine eco-systems.

Ladies and gentlemen,

6.                     Bangladesh has taken a good number of blue economy initiatives in the recent years. In our existing 7^th FiveYear Plan, blue economy has been identified as one of the essential drivers for development. Under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we have established the Maritime Affairs Unit which is being looked after by the Secretary Rear Admiral (Retd)Md. KhurshedAlam who is present today amongst us as a guest speaker. Moreover “Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute” has been set up in order to undertake marine scientific research. But most importantly, the establishment of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University in the recent years has been a landmark decision by the present govt  under able leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in order to provide opportunities for maritime higher education and research.

7.         Ladies and Gentlemen, Bangladesh believes that the regional vision for the blue economy must be supported by a balanced integration of the economic, social and environmental elements of development. Bangladesh is the current Vice-Chair of Indian Ocean Rim Association and will assume the charges of Chair in October 2021. Bangladesh is also the current President of the Council of the International Seabed Authority. Apart from that we are member of regional initiatives such as BIMSTEC, BBIN, etc. Bangladesh promotes regional cooperation in fisheries management, sustainable utilization of marine resources, environmental protection, disaster management and many other sectors through these regional organizations. In fact, in the context of Bay of Bengal we need to develop a cooperative mechanism among the littoral states to promote collaboration for reaping maximum benefits of blue economy. Maritime capacity building should be planned in regard to governance and institutional framework, academic and research institutions, managerial-technical-technological capabilities and qualified skills. It is high time to decide which marine sectors to prioritise, based on its domestic needs and demands of global market and charting a course towards a Blue horizon in partnership with the regional countries.

8.         Bangladesh considers Blue Economy as one of the cornerstones for its economic growth and socio-economic development. Bangladesh successfully arranged First International Blue Economy Workshop in 2014 which was first of such Workshop in the Indian Ocean region. Bangladesh also successfully arranged Second International Blue Economy Dialogue in November 2017 and 3rd IORA Blue Economy Ministerial Conference in September 2019. A Work plan for Development of Blue Economy has been prepared as guideline to untap the Blue Economy potentials. Blue Economy was an integral part of government’s election manifesto. We already have a lot of suggestions, recommendations, outcomes and discussions in the meetings, workshops and seminars. Now, it’s the time to materialize all these and get into pragmatic actions and stop ecocide. 

9.         Ladies and gentlemen, before I conclude I would once again thank our distinguished guests from Hawaii and dignitaries from the US embassy for their participationat this important webinar. The United States and Bangladesh cooperate closely on a range of issues, including economics, security, governance and development. . You would be happy to know that a virtual meeting was convened by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Keith Krach, and Adviser for Private Industry and Investment to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Salman F. Rahman, MP, on September 30, 2020 with a view to developing a Vision for Advancing U.S.-Bangladesh Economic Partnership. A Joint Statement was prepared and published outlining the framework for furthering the cooperation between the two countries. We hope that we will soon enter into some tangible maritime cooperation framework under this arrangement.

10.       Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope and believe this Webinar will bring together all the maritime experts, economists, academicians, scientists, govt administration and all the maritime stakeholders under a common platform through mutual discussions. I sincerely appreciate the excellent initiatives of BSMRMU in arranging such an important webinar with an interesting blend of audience. Thanks to all the panelists and speakers from home and abroad for their participation and sharing their views on a subject matter which is so relevant and pertinent. I wish this pandemic will soon be over.

May I revived you, Ladies and gentlemen, “ মেঘ দেখে তুই করিস নারে ভয়, আড়ালে তার সূর্য হাসে” There is always seen sunshine after cloud.

 I thank you all.

Joi Bangla, Joi Bangabandhu