Kota Kinabalu: Malaysia is the Chair of Asean 2025, and on Sept 29, the Federal Ministry of Economy successfully organised the 3rd Asean Blue Economy Forum at the Sabah International Convention Centre. The event was officiated open by the Deputy Minister of Economy, Dato Hanifah Hajar Taib.
In her keynote address, she said Malaysia’s Blue Economy is strengthening resilience and driving regional prosperity as under the 13th Malaysia Plan, Malaysia’s Blue Economy is identified as one of the priorities within the national agenda to advance economic complexity, supporting the transition towards sustainable and inclusive growth.
At the Plenary 1 session on “Blue Economy Financing and Investment” moderated by Dr Fauziah Zen of the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA), Prof. Thorjorn Larssen from the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) spoke on the European examples that Asean countries could learn from.
One example cited by him is the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund managed by a state-owned limited company to raise funds financed by the aquaculture and fisheries industry through a levy on exports of Norwegian seafood at 0.3 per cent.
The goal is to create added value to the blue economy industry through research and development.
He said, “Sustainable financing is key for a sustainable blue economy. European experiences that may be useful for Asean include strategic, long term and integrated policies.
It is important to integrate environmental sustainability with economic growth with good regulations, monitoring and standards adherence.
“New European policies include Ocean Pact and water resilience strategy with 1 billion euros set aside for protecting marine life and strengthening the blue economy.
“There should be incentives for sector cooperation, sectoral development and innovation, including open research with sector involvement with predictable and fair frame conditions,” he said.
Prof. Thorjorn Larssen revealed that under Europe’s Blue Invest platform, it is aimed to accelerate ocean-based technologies and solutions to unlock innovation and related investment opportunities in 10 identifies blue sectors.
These are aquaculture, blue biotechnology, blue renewable energy, blue tech and ocean observation, coastal and maritime tourism, environmental protection and regeneration, fisheries, shipbuilding & refit, shipping and ports, and water management.
At the event, Dr Ben Millingan, the Co-Director Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) explained on the United Nations Ocean Conference Political Declaration finalised in June 2025 on “Our Ocean, Our Future: United for Urgent Action”.
He opined that to close the challenges, barriers and gaps in Southeast Asia to financing a sustainable blue economy SDGs by 2030 might require some US$2.1 trillion.
He said, “We emphasize the critical need for national ocean accounting and mapping of coastal and marine ecosystems, and of the ocean floor, as appropriate, to inform policy decisions, development planning, integrated coastal zone management, as well as conserving planning.”“What can ocean accounting unlock? Ocean Accounts provide the means to track social, economic and environmental performance of projects and investments using comparable and aggregable indicators, supporting institutional-scale investments in sustainable ocean outcomes,” Dr Ben said.
At the event, Shashwat Koirala of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) the potential and challenges of innovative blue finance include the case of blue bonds.
These are debt instruments used by government and corporations to fund investments in a sustainable blue ocean economy that have an economic return.
He explained that the specific applications are for the carbon markets, result-based payments, blue bonds, parametric insurance, public multilateral investment, and development assistance purposes.
SDG 14 – Life Below Water – is the least funded of all 17 SDGs, demonstrating a systemic underinvestment in ocean conservation and sustainable use.
All panel speakers reiterated that Asean’s blue economy is a lifeline for the people and planet. Oceans, rivers and coasts are more than resources – they are lifelines supporting food security, livelihoods, cultural heritage and climate resilience. The communities are at the heart of the blue economy, driving change and innovation.
Communities are stewards, innovators, and beneficiaries. When local knowledge meets science and markets, innovation reshapes economies.
Participants from Asean countries in the Forum, held under the theme “Invigoration of Blue Economy”, are determined to help to transform Asean’s blue economy vision into action by exploring new frontiers of sustainable growth. They reiterated the importance of having the national political will to realise such resolutions.
