Indonesia engages in collaborative blue economy strategy discussions between the Indonesia-Brunei-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) and the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) with fellow ASEAN member countries at the Strategic Planning Meeting BIMP-EAGA in Sarawak, Malaysia. "This strategy aligns with Indonesia's ASEAN Chairmanship priorities for 2023, which includes a focus on sustainable and inclusive blue economy development," stated Netty Muharni, Deputy Assistant for Regional and Subregional Economic Cooperation at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Jakarta. She emphasized Indonesia's active contribution to implementing the BIMP-EAGA IMT-GT Blue Economy Strategy 2030. Indonesia and other Southeast Asian nations aim to ensure effective implementation of the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework to harness the region's blue economy potential as a new growth engine.
During the meeting, Netty also discussed the formation progress of the Blue Economy Task Force in ASEAN and plans for the 2nd ASEAN Blue Economic Forum, sponsored by Indonesia. She extended an invitation to BIMP-EAGA members to attend the upcoming forum scheduled for later this year in Laos. Furthermore, Netty advocated for establishing a Working Group on Halal Products and Services within the BIMP-EAGA framework, in response to the growing interest in collaboration in the halal sector. The Strategic Planning Meeting BIMP-EAGA, held from March 12-14 in Sarawak, Malaysia, addressed priority projects for 2024, economic corridor study outcomes, and a mid-term review of the BIMP-EAGA Vision 2025. The review revealed that between 2017-2022, almost all targets outlined in the BIMP-EAGA Vision 2025 were either met or exceeded. Cumulative exports reached USD 563.2 billion (IDR 8,819.7 trillion) against a target of USD 240 billion (IDR 3,758.4 trillion), while foreign investments totaled USD 74 billion (IDR 1,158.8 trillion) surpassing the USD 66 billion target (IDR 1,033.5 trillion). Moreover, the number of domestic and international tourists far exceeded the target, reaching 490 million against the projected 124 million.
