The 3rd IORA Blue Economy Ministerial Conference will kick off today (Wednesday) at the InterContinental Hotel in Dhaka.
Four working sessions, scheduled for today, will discuss the means and ways to strengthen Blue Economy implementation.
The ministerial segment of the event will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinaon tomorrow (Thursday).
Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is a bloc that comprises Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Sultanate of Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand and UAE.
The nine dialogue partners are China, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the USA.
Bangladesh hosted the first International Blue Economy Workshop in 2014.
To further keep up the already built momentum to explore potential areas of Blue Economy, Bangladesh is organising the 3rd IORA Blue Economy Ministerial Conference as it will take over the charge of Vice Chair from 2019 and subsequently Chair of IORA from 2021 for two years.
The two-day Dhaka IORA Conference is organised under the theme "Promoting Sustainable Blue Economy- making the best use of opportunities from the Indian Ocean".
"The discussions are aimed at mapping and securing inclusive development of the marine resources in the Indian Ocean region. Internationally renowned speakers and experts will take part in the discussion which is to be attended by the Committee of the Senior Officials of the IORA Member States and Dialogue Partners" said a foreign ministry statement on Tuesday.
Foreign Ministers from Australia, Iran, Sri Lanka, Comoros and Seychelles, State Minister for Foreign Affairs from Somalia and Thailand, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries from Kenya, Minister for Ocean Economy from Mauritius, Minister for Marine Resources from Maldives and Deputy Minister for Environment and Forest from South Africa are going to participate in the Conference.
The Secretary General of International Seabed Authority will also participate in the conference.
In the ministerial segment, the IORA Secretary General will brief about the progress of 1st and 2nd IORA Ministerial Conferences on Blue Economy held in Mauritius and Indonesia in 2015 and 2017 respectively.
At the end of the conference, Dhaka Declaration will be adopted as a document aimed at illustrating the commitment of IORA Member States and Dialogue Partners to further strengthen and deepen cooperation on Blue Economy priority areas in the years ahead.
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