On July 1, under the witness of Sun Shuxian, member of the Party Group and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources, and Director of the State Oceanic Administration, Director Fang Yinxia of the SIO signed an agreement with the Earth Science Division of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development of the Republic of Kiribati to promote marine cooperation.

Vice Minister Sun Shuxian met with the delegation of Ribanataake Tiwau, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development of Kiribati, and stated that marine cooperation is an important part of the friendly cooperation between China and Kiribati. The two countries have extensive common interests in achieving sustainable ocean development, promoting the establishment of a just and rational international ocean order, and ensuring equal participation in global ocean governance.

Ribanataake Tiwau expressed gratitude for China’s long-term assistance to the economic and social development of Kiribati. He expressed the hope that China and Kiribati have common interests and goals in implementing the spirit of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, realizing the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and enhancing the capacity of developing countries to participate in global ocean governance. He also hoped that the “Blue Partnership” between China and Kiribati could be stable and far-reaching.

Kiribati is a Pacific island nation that spans both the southern and northern hemispheres as well as the eastern and western hemispheres, with unique advantages in marine scientific research. In recent years, the SIO has conducted fruitful cooperation with Kiribati, and it has enhanced its capabilities in marine environmental remote sensing monitoring and sustainable marine management based on the Pacific Island Nearshore and Coastal Remote Sensing Analysis Service System (PI-ReSOC) independently developed by the SIO.

The signing of the agreement between the two parties is an important step in promoting substantive marine scientific and technological cooperation between the SIO and the Pacific island countries, and it is also a crucial part of the construction of the Ocean Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Cooperation Sub-Center of the China-Pacific Island Countries Center for Prevention and Mitigation. In the future, the SIO will continue to strengthen communication and cooperation with Kiribati within the framework of the cooperation agreement on the construction of marine and coastal remote sensing monitoring systems, the exchange of remote sensing observation data and research results, the joint research, and the enhancement of personnel exchanges and capacity building.