India, Norway to hold 5th task force meeting on Blue Economy

The India-Norway Task Force on Blue Economy for Sustainable Development will meet for the 5th time on June 23, the Norwegian Embassy said on Thursday.

The India-Norway Task Force on Blue Economy for Sustainable Development will meet for the 5th time on June 23, the Norwegian Embassy said on Thursday. The meeting is chaired by Secretary Dr M Ravichandran, Ministry of Earth Sciences, and the Norwegian Ambassador, Hans Jacob Frydenlund.

The Task Force was constituted after the initiative from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to support growth in the Blue Economy as the 6th dimension of his Vision of New India by 2030. As pointed out by Ambassador Frydenlund, "The Norway-India cooperation contributes to creating economic growth and jobs while protecting the marine environment and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. The Blue Economy has enormous potential when we develop it sustainably"

Secretary MOES further added that "India has recently launched the Deep Ocean Mission which aims at developing technologies for the exploration of the ocean resources and mapping the rich marine biodiversity of India's EEZ which would help in developing new generation ocean services for the country. India is also working towards early finalization of its Blue Economy Policy." The meeting will focus on the Indo-Norwegian cooperation to improve ocean space management, reduce plastic pollution, and cut emissions from shipping and ports. Officials will also explore how the two countries can enhance collaboration on deep-ocean technology, fisheries, aquaculture, and ocean-based renewable energy.

"Since the Task Force was launched 3 years ago, India and Norway have made great strides towards tackling marine pollution and improving waste management through a number of joint projects. Our industries are partnering up to build zero-emission ships and develop deep ocean technology", said Ambassador Frydenlund. "The Integrated Ocean Management Initiative under this collaboration has led to better understanding of the ocean resources management and conflict resolution mechanisms amongst the stakeholders which would lead to development of Marine Spatial Planning template for the country" mentioned Dr Ravichandran.

The India-Norway Blue Economy Task Force initiatives contribute immensely to furthering the Government of India programmes such as the Swachh Bharat Mission, Sagar mala and Sustainable Development Goals. The last India-Norway Task Force on Blue Economy was held in a virtual avatar on June 9, 2021.

The Blue Economy partnership is the cornerstone of the bilateral cooperation between India and Norway. Since the creation of the Task Force in 2019, our cooperation has expanded and deepened. Last month, PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with the counterpart of Nordic countries and discussed ways to boost partnership in the blue economy, clean technology, geothermal energy and 5G. (ANI)

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