Press Release

Jakarta, 13 March 2023 — Korea-Indonesia 6th Joint Commission on Marine Science and Technology successfully held on Monday, March 13th, 2023 in the Coordinating Ministry of Marine Affairs and Investment (CMMAI) Building, Jakarta. 

This agenda is a commitment between the two countries to strengthening the practical cooperation in the field of marine science and technology after Implementing Arrangement (IA) signed between the Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries (MOF) Korea and the Coordinating Ministry of Marine Affairs and Investment (CMMAI) Indonesia on May 9th, 2018. Joint Commission between Korea and Indonesia has been held 5 times since 2018 and has become the annual agenda between the two countries.

The meeting was attended by the joint committee consisting of representatives from several Korean institutions, including SONG Myeongdal (MOF),  KIM Jiin (MOF), KIM Wonkook  (Pusan National University), HUR Sungpyo (Jeju National University), HA Kyungsoo (Korean Embassy in Indonesia), Junhyung KIM (Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology-KIOST), KIM Youngduck (Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean-KRISO) and PARK Hansan (Korea-Indonesia Marine Technology Cooperation Research Center-MTCRC), while the delegation from Indonesia consisting of representatives from the CMMAI including Amalyos Chan, Rahmat Mulianda, Firman Trisasongko, Firman Ibnu Sina and Andreas Hutahean as well as a representative from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), namely Ivonne M. Radjawane. This meeting was opened with remarks from Mochammad Firman Hidayat as Act. Deputy for Coordination of Maritime Resources of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and remarks from Myeongdal SONG as Deputy Head of the Minister of Maritime Policy, MOF.

In his remarks, Deputy Firman Hidayat said that the commitment to maritime cooperation between Korea and Indonesia began with the signing of the MoU between the two ministries (MOF-CMMAI) in 2016 and was strengthened in the Maritime Bilateral Dialogue in 2021. On this occasion, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Luhut B. Pandjaitan, emphasized that Through the MTCRC, Korea and Indonesia have strengthened bilateral maritime relations between the two countries. "It is important to expand and maintain the role and function of the MTCRC; the Indonesian government will recognize the MTCRC as Indonesia's official International Cooperation Research Center and continue administrative support for the MTCRC" said Deputy Firman Hidayat. He also added, in the last 5 years, the MTCRC has demonstrated great performance and achievements. Myeongdal SONG also conveyed his appreciation for the commitment and work of the MTCRC in his remarks: "The Korea-Indonesia MTCRC has made a special achievement as the focal point of cooperation between the two countries in the last five years, even under unfavorable conditions caused by Covid-19 pandemic. "said Myeongdal SONG. He also hopes that delegations from the two countries can exchange opinions and continue to support the MTCRC as a focal point in maritime cooperation between Indonesia and Korea. On this occasion, Mr. Myeongdal SONG respectfully asks for the continuation of the support that has been given by the CMMAI to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the maritime sector. Likewise, the MOF of the Republic of Korea will show the same support to fulfill this goal.

The Director of Korea MTCRC, Dr. Hansan PARK, took this opportunity to report MTCRC activities to all members of the joint commission, which began with the submission of the status, main activities, special activities, and the status of the MTCRC budget. His next presentation was regarding a review of the MTCRC activity plan, which can be categorized into four, namely cooperation platforms, joint research, capacity building, and implementation of Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects. MTCRC Director Dr. Hansan Park said the two new projects would be launched to implement the 2023 ODA Project, namely Integrated Capacity Building and Smart Aquaculture.

The activity continued with a discussion session moderated by Andreas Albertino Hutahaean, Associate Senior Policy Analyst at Assistant Deputy for Marine and Coastal Spatial Management. There were three important points raised by the delegates in the discussion session. The first point is about the issue of climate change and the initiation of blue carbon projects. Indonesia has a wide and diverse blue carbon ecosystem with a carbon potential of up to 3.4 Giga Tons (GT), or around 17% of the world's blue carbon. With this large carbon potential, Indonesia is expected to expand maritime-based cooperation as a form of climate change mitigation effort. Deputy Firman Hidayat also said that Korea and Indonesia need to strengthen cooperation through joint research and other collaborative projects related to the protection and expansion of blue carbon ecosystems to support the achievement of Zero Net Emissions.

The second issue raised at this meeting was the sustainable blue economy, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Maritime Spatial Planning. Indonesia is committed to sustainable marine management that balances aspects of food security and business goals with sustainability aspects and their long-term impact on marine ecology. The delegates said that with the vast area of water in Indonesia, cooperation in the field of utilizing technology related to marine spatial planning, such as GIS and remote sensing analysis, can accelerate the achievement of better marine management in Indonesia. Korea, which has many achievements in technological progress, is considered a very appropriate partner for cooperation to support the development of the blue economy in Indonesia. The third issue was the capacity building and technology for marine aquaculture; expanding the scope of cooperation in the field of Marine Biology is also needed to support the program. Korea and Indonesia are expected to jointly lead the escort of climate change issues around the world.