Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin delivered an online speech at the 2024 Global Ocean Development Forum hosted by Shandong Provincial People’s Government from October 24 to 25.
The forum focused on the theme “Let’s Sea Our Futures—Promoting Blue Partnerships for Growth and Sustainability.” At the opening ceremony, congratulatory speeches were given by Wang Yong, vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Consultative Conference National Committee; Ahmed Nazim, deputy speaker of the Parliament of the Maldives; Lin Wu, party secretary of Shandong; Wang Guanghua, Minister of Natural Resources of China; and Hou Yanqi (online), the Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN. Other dignitaries, including Miao Wei, Feng Zhenglin, and Yi Gang, also attended the event.
In his address, Mr. Lim stated, “The Global Ocean Development Forum serves as a major platform promoting international cooperation and exchange in the ocean sector in East Asia.” He praised this year’s forum, highlighting its expanded scale with exhibitions and various activities that effectively showcased Shandong’s achievements in the ocean sector.
The 2024 Global Ocean Development Forum brought together business leaders, experts, and scholars from 667 marine-related institutions—including universities, science research organizations, and enterprises—from across 41 countries in a hybrid (online and offline) format. This event served as a platform for collectively designing marine cooperation, with the goal of advancing marine development and enhancing welfare.
This forum, organized by Shandong Province as a ministerial-level event, integrates the “East Asia Ocean Cooperation Platform Qingdao Forum” and the "NEAR Subcommittee on Ocean and Fisheries." As the only international forum in Shandong dedicated to marine affairs, the 2024 Global Ocean Development Forum marked the inaugural event under this newly unified format.