TEMPO.CO, Oslo - Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Ministry Susi Pudjiastuti met with State Secretary to Minister of International Development Jens Holte yesterday in Oslo for talks to boost ties between Indonesia and Norway in maritime management.
According to Holte, Norway’s vision on maritime management is to balance the benefits of the marine economy and ocean restoration through several renewable programs, such as Fish for Development, Marine Spatial Management Plans, and Ocean Waste Management.
Indonesia and Norway have teamed up in joint endeavors to battle crimes related to fisheries, offshore cultivation development, and sea waste management. Norway has long been into reducing the ocean waste on the grounds that plastic waste has affected the quality of seafood that humans routinely consume.
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Norway’s commitment to reducing ocean waste evident in the establishment of a trust fund aimed at helping countries ease the world's marine litter. The fund will first be sent to the World Bank before transferred to countries requiring financial assistance in managing marine litter—including Indonesia.
Susi has lauded the Norwegian assistance, saying that reducing marine waste was part of Indonesia's main policies—besides the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which has become her ministry's priority in bettering Indonesia's fisheries management.
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Susi also asserted that the fund will be strictly channeled to those living on islets that she believed were the ones most affected by sea waste.
The State Secretary said Norwegian foreign affairs representatives will attend the OOC 2018 that will be held in Bali.
ARIF ZULKIFLI
