Overview
The Congress culminated in the signing of the Preah Sihanouk Ministerial Declaration by the heads of PEMSEA country partners. The Declaration puts forth the following commitments:
- Reaffirm and build on the region’s previous Ministerial commitments in support of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA) and key international agreements;
- Recognize the persistent and emerging challenges, including COVID-19, in the region;
- Highlight the region’s progress under PEMSEA (i.e., completion of the Regional State of Ocean and Coasts and ten National State of the Ocean and Coasts reports on blue economy; scaled up integrated coastal management, which presently covers an estimated 40 percent of the region’s coastline and contiguous watersheds; facilitated formulation, adoption, and implementation of policies and programs on coastal areas, rivers, and associated watershed areas and ocean ecosystems);
- Endorse the development of the SDS-SEA Implementation Plan 2023-2027 and PEMSEA Roadmap to 2030; and
- Build back better from the impacts of the global pandemic through strengthened partnership towards a responsible and strengthened ocean governance anchored on sustainable development and blue economy principles.
The 7th EAS Ministerial Forum included a press conference.
Target Participants
PEMSEA country partners and invited guests
