Sheikh Hasina has urged Iora leaders to dedicate themselves to strengthening maritime cooperation to ensure a peaceful and prosperous Indian Ocean region.
Speaking before regional leaders at Jakarta Convention Centre in Indonesia on Tuesday, the Bangladesh prime minister said the Indian Ocean carries paramount significance for global security, connectivity, peace and prosperity.
"It constitutes the lifeline to our globalised world, providing passage to half of its container ships, one third of the bulk cargo traffic and two thirds of its oil shipments," she said.
The premier said the push for greater regional cooperation was not only driven by geography.
"We would like to connect also through ideas, innovation, trade, finance, culture and tourism. More importantly, we would like to connect human minds to build peaceful and prosperous societies," she said.
Indonesia's President Joko Widodo, right, welcomes Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) summit in Jakarta on March 7, 2017.
AFPBlue economyHasina said that as a littoral country of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, Bangladesh firmly believed that future economic prosperity, food security and social wellbeing largely depended on the sustainable use of its marine resources.
"As such, we renewed our focus towards a blue economy (and) this is now in the common interest of all Iora member states," she said.
"If the blue economy were to guide our economics in future, then we should use our seas to promote friendship and curb tension in the region, respect freedom of navigation and cooperate through the mechanism of Iora."
The premier cited the peaceful delimitation of Bangladesh's maritime boundary with Myanmar and India, saying this had ushered in a "new era" of economic opportunities.
"(However) our ability to reap economic benefits from the ocean depends largely on our capacity to rise above challenges in the maritime domain," she said.
Hasina called on Iora leaders to ensure the safety and rights of mariners and other oceangoing professionals and proposed the setting up a maritime university in Bangladesh, to be called the Indian Ocean Technical and Vocational University, for training a pool of skilled mariners in the region.
'New world of energy cooperation'The premier also sought enhanced energy cooperation among Iora nations. Bangladesh, she said, had already taken initiatives to expand power and energy trade with neighbours and was also developing a renewable energy circuit using ocean and atmospheric forces based on maritime industries.
"We hope that countries of the Indian Ocean region will join us in creating a new world of energy security," she said.
Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stands on the far right of the family photo of IORA leaders on March 7, 2017. From left to right: Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, South African President Jacob Zuma, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull, Mozambique President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, and Malaysian PM Najib Razak.
AFP'Alarming' sea level riseSheikh Hasina highlighted climate change as one of the most challenging issues for the Indian Ocean rim countries: "We did not create global warming but we are its worst sufferers. The need to ensure climate justice is a matter we take very seriously," she said.
The premier pointed to an "alarming rise in the sea level", saying that a one metre rise would result in Bangladesh losing one third of its most valuable agricultural land and 18 million people being displaced.
Father of the NationPointing out that today is a memorable day for Bangladesh, the premier told the delegates in Jakarta that the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered his historic speech at Suhrawardhy Udyan on this day in Dhaka in 1971.
"Bangabandhu delivered his historic speech that inspired the people of Bangladesh to fight for independence. I respectfully remember the invaluable contribution of Bangabandhu and pay my tribute to the brave martyrs who sacrificed their lives for our freedom," she said.
