1. France and Indonesia held their second Bilateral Maritime Dialogue in Paris on 14 March 2024. The Delegation of France was led by H.E. Mr. Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, Ambassador for Polar and Maritime Affairs, Special Envoy of the President of the French Republic for the United Nations Ocean Conference. The Delegation of Indonesia was led by H.E. Mr. Mego Pinandito, Deputy for Development Policy of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) of the Republic of Indonesia. The Dialogue between the Delegations was followed by meetings with French regional authorities from Normandie and Hauts-de-France and with French companies from the maritime sector.
2. France and Indonesia underlined that the Bilateral Maritime Dialogue reflected the depth of their strategic partnership. Both sides renewed their mutual commitment to further reinforce their cooperation on maritime affairs, including in multilateral and regional fora, in order to strengthen maritime safety and security, to develop economic resilience and the blue economy, and to foster a shared understanding of the maritime sector through research, science, and cultural cooperation. They endorsed fifteen cooperation project proposals across these areas.
3. France and Indonesia stressed the importance of close coordination on maritime and marine affairs in international and regional fora to promote the peaceful uses of the seas and oceans, the equitable, sustainable, responsible and efficient utilisation of their resources, the conservation of their living resources, and the study, protection, restoration and preservation of the marine environment. In this regard, both sides agreed to work closely together in the perspective of the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC 3) co-hosted by Costa Rica and France (June 2025, Nice), including by mobilising cities, coastal regions and Small Island States threatened by rising sea levels. They called for the completion, by 2024, of the negotiations of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. France highlighted the importance of the ratification by the international community of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions treaty. They agreed to reinforce their cooperation in the Indian Ocean, in particular within the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), in the Pacific and with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Both sides took note with appreciation of the collaboration between the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Indonesia in combatting marine debris pollution.
4. France and Indonesia reiterated the need to uphold and to promote peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation and of overflight, in accordance with international law, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Both sides stressed their commitment to combat organised crime, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as well as to promote responsible fishing practices. In this regard, they expressed their readiness to develop new mutually beneficial forms of cooperation, including but not limited to capacity-building and training programs for coast-guard agencies and/or relevant maritime law enforcement institutions.
5. France and Indonesia recalled the importance of the sustainable management of marine and coastal resources to foster inclusive economic growth and food security and to strengthen, in this regard, maritime economic resilience and blue economy sectors. Both sides agreed to promote further synergies between economic and business entities from France and Indonesia in the sectors of maritime industrial cooperation and renewable marine energies. They agreed to harness cooperation with and between private sectors in the fields of innovation technology in the blue economy and to promote sustainable maritime and coastal tourism. Both sides expressed their interest to enhance cooperation on blue carbon ecosystems management and coastal livelihood. Both sides took note with appreciation of the collaborative efforts of AFD and Indonesia to modernize Indonesian fishing ports for enhanced performance and sustainability.
6. France and Indonesia underlined their commitment to leveraging scientific and cultural cooperation to protect marine ecosystems and biodiversity, to strengthen maritime research capacities, including to produce instruments to measure the health of the ocean, and to promote marine and maritime cultural heritage. Both sides agreed to work towards the establishment of joint research programs on clean seas and on mangrove sustainability as well as university and research partnerships on maritime studies, and to promote the fight against plastic pollution through the organisation of a side event during the World Water Forum hosted by Indonesia (2024). They further agreed to promote maritime cultural heritage through the organisation of an exhibition in France. Both sides commended the support provided by the AFD to finance a marine meteorology system in Indonesia and to strengthen Indonesian oceanographic research capacities.
7. France and Indonesia agreed to hold their third Bilateral Maritime Dialogue in Indonesia in 2025, on a date to be mutually agreed.