Picture a Blueprint by Four Missions

　　Achieve Win-Win Cooperation by“Ocean”

　　An Overview of the Achievements of

　　the First General Assembly of

　　21st-Century Maritime Cooperation Committee

　　21st-Century Maritime Cooperation Committee

　　Held Its First General Assembly

　　The scene of the First General Assembly of 21st-Century Maritime Cooperation Committee

Last April, 21st-Century Maritime Cooperation Committee was established by Fuzhou with the support of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). After more than one year of elaborate preparations, the Committee held its first general assembly yesterday.

The Assembly had been quite fruitful. The Charter of 21st-Century Maritime Cooperation Committee was approved unanimously. The candidates for Presidents and Secretary General of the Committee were granted approval. The list of Co-Presidents was approved, the list of founding members was announced and Fuzhou Declaration was adopted. Also, the Assembly had released the future work plan. Reporters learned that 52 cities and organizations from 25 countries on five continents had joined the committee so far.

Achievement I: A New Charter Opening a New Chapter

The Charter of 21st-Century Maritime Cooperation Committee  issued at the Assembly has 6 chapters and 19 articles, covering the Mission, Organizational Structure, Operational Mechanism, Internal Management of the Committee, etc.

The Charter introduces four major missions of the Committee, namely, “build a platform”, “integrate resources”, “promote exchanges” and “offer advice and suggestions”, picturing a new blueprint of maritime exchanges and cooperation.

“By building a platform for maritime cooperation and exchanges under Belt and Road Initiative, we aim to set up an effective dialogue， linkage and  coordination mechanism.” An official from Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Fuzhou Municipal People’s Government clarified the meaning of the “four major missions”. “Depending on the platform, we are going to pool resources of all coastal cities and local governments in Asia-Pacific region and the world at large, so as to take a holistic approach in planning a batch of extensive cooperation projects with the involvement of all parties. In addition, the Committee expects to deepen the cooperation between coastal cities and regions in Asia-Pacific region and the world at large in different fields including marine economy, marine conservation, waterway security, ports, disaster prevention and reduction, etc. By intensifying the research on the subject of maritime cooperation, we will also provide policy advice for coastal cities and regions in Asia-Pacific region and the world at large.” the official said.

In regard to the organizational structure and operational mechanism of the Committee, this Assembly appointed two honorary presidents, two presidents and four co-presidents for a three-year term. Additionally, several representatives and officials of UCLG and its sections, scholars and experts in marine field, and representatives of enterprises were invited as advisers to contribute their ideas for promoting maritime cooperation.

The Charter stipulates that the General Assembly shall be convened every three years to discuss the formulation and revision of the Charter, to review and approve the work reports and plans of the Committee, to discuss the key policy issues concerning maritime cooperation, etc. Also, the Committee has a Standing Committee and the Secretariat. The Standing Committee Meeting shall be convened at least once a year and the site of the Secretariat is permanently located in Fuzhou, China.

Achievement II: A New Logo Highlighting Ocean Features

The logo of 21st-Century Maritime Cooperation Committee launched at the Assembly holds deep implications, which consists of a light blue and unique-shaped letter “C” wrapping around five “sails” in different colors.

“We used the five colors drawn from the Olympic rings for our logo in order to convey the message that people on the five continents are all families heading towards a joint development.” An official from Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Fuzhou Municipal People’s Government told the reporter. The five colors of the Olympic rings are well received by the international community, which is perfect for symbolizing the globalization trend of economic and trade exchanges, and thus making the logo both meaningful and recognizable.

The logo consists of several elements: the letter “C” taken from the first letter of the name of the Committee, sails, sailboat, the earth, waves, etc.

According to the Committee, the letter “C” is made up of 10 lines, a number representing a flawless perfection in Chinese, indicating the spirit of “extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits” upheld by 21st-Century Maritime Cooperation Committee. Meanwhile, it also shows the Committee’s determination to comprehensively enhance the cohesion, the transmission, and the leading power of the core area of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. The “waves” symbolizes marine industries, implying that the Committee will promote regional cooperation and accelerate the development of marine technology and marine industries. The “sails” are the symbol of solidarity and cooperation, expressing the hope that every member stands in solidarity and heads towards a bright future together.

Achievement III: New forms Achieving Win-Win Cooperation

The reporter learned that Fuzhou is going to embark on a new journey of maritime cooperation after the first General Assembly and to promote the multilateral cooperation and win-win development in three ways, including enriching the forms of activities, promoting practical cooperation and strengthening the advertising and promotions.

To enrich the forms of activities, the Committee is going to invite its members, in a targeted manner, to attend the existing international events held by Fuzhou, such as Silk Road International Film Festival and Maritime Silk Road (Fuzhou) International Tourism Festival. Meanwhile, the Committee will host some workshops and seminars on well-defined issues. Through large trade fairs like Cross-Strait Fair for Economy and Trade held every year on May 18th in Fuzhou, Cross-Strait (Fuzhou) Fisheries Week and China (Fuzhou) International Seafood & Fisheries Expo, the Committee also seeks to increase the interactions with other cities in the fields of marine economy, marine ecological environment protection, etc.

An official of Fuzhou said, “Remaining in close contact with member cities is a pre-requisite for realizing practical cooperation.” Therefore, the Committee is going to host exchange events on marine culture like “Fuzhou Day” in some of its member cities and to assimilate the marine culture from other members in the meantime. Hopefully, such events will form a brand so that more member cities will hold those events alternately. In addition, a membership database will be set up to have a comparative analysis on the resources endowments of member cities, which helps to plan a batch of high-quality and large-scale projects for maritime cooperation and promote bilateral and even multilateral win-win cooperation.

It is also learned that the Committee will strengthen its efforts to gather and sort the information of its founding members, make a map of global founding members with location pins, and compile the members’ handbook. Further, they will launch an official website of the Committee and WeChat official account, on which they can publish the reports about the visits to member cities and interviews with each other. Also, the Committee will host regular events with different themes, so as to increase understanding among coastal cities and organizations and further enhance the international reach of the Committee.

The Congratulatory speech by Won Hee-Ryong, President of UCLG ASPAC

I would like to express heartfelt congratulations on the successful convening of the first General Assembly of 21st-Century Maritime Cooperation Committee!

I would like to extend the warmest gratitude to the distinguished members, for your commitment to launching a new era of maritime cooperation in Asia-Pacific region.

The diversity of the Asia Pacific region stems from the ocean. The ecosystem, environment and rich resources of the Asia-Pacific region are connected and integrated through the exchange and communication of the ocean.

21st-Century Maritime Cooperation Committee will be a new platform in the era of Asia-Pacific maritime cooperation, allowing all members to communicate and cooperate with each other on issues of common interests.

I hope that the Asia-Pacific initiative on maritime exchanges and cooperation would expand to cities along the Maritime Silk Road and bring peace to the world.

As the President of UCLG ASPAC, I fully support all activities of 21st-Century Maritime Cooperation Committee.

Thank you to all the participants and I wish you all the best!

Thank you!

(Source: Fuzhou News Agency)