BelitongToday, Tanjungpandan – The 2023 High Level Task Force ASEAN Economic Integration (HLTF-EI) meeting was officially began.
The meeting, attended by 10 ASEAN member countries and organization, took place at the Sheraton Resort, on March 1-3.
The Acting Governor of Bangka Belitung Islands, Ridwan Djamaluddin, was present and delivered opening remarks before the delegates.
He welcomed the delegates to Belitung Regency, Bangka Islands Province or well known as the “Land of Rainbow Troops”. “Welcome to the Land of Rainbow Troops,” he opened the speech before the delegates, Wednesday (3/1).
In the discussion forum, Ridwan Djamaluddin conveyed the importance of blue economy implementation in Bangka Belitung Province.
“Blue economy in this province is very important for the people of Babel,” he explained.
According to Ridwan, Babel has implemented many policies in sustainable economic sectors such as fisheries, agriculture, forestry, and tourism.
“Belitung Island is an example, where Belitung worked hard to change the economic mindset from mining to tourism,” he explained.
He continued, fisheries in Babel reached 228,980 metric tons per year, or 81% of its potential of 282,100 metric tons.
“Regional Regulation No. 3/2020 on Coastal and Small Island Zone Plan in Babel emphasizes sustainable fisheries. As 80 percent of the available area is designed for fisheries and marine development,” he added.
In addition, Ridwan continued, the performance of Babel’s capture fisheries in 2022 is quite stunning. There are 39,942 fishermen, 24 cold storage units, and 16,208 vessels. Not to mention production volume of 222,790 metric tons and production value of Rp6.7 trillion or USD450 million.
“I hope you can have a fruitful meeting and don’t forget to shop and enjoy the island,” he concluded. (Angga)
