Co-Facilitators,

Thank you for giving me the floor.

We welcome the convening of the UN Oceans Conference in June this year. This is a very timely initiative and we thank the governments of Fiji and Sweden for hosting this important Conference.

We thank the PGA for convening this preparatory meeting and congratulate you on your appointment as the Co-Facilitators of this preparatory process. We offer you our full support in your efforts to guide this process.

The Secretary-General's Background note providing information and analysis on the state of play on oceans and sustainable development and the legal framework and proposing the Themes for the seven Partnership Dialogues is useful.

Co-Facilitators,

We appreciate the themes proposed by the Secretary-General for discussion at the seven Partnership Dialogues during the Conference.

We feel that the proposed themes broadly cover the major areas of discussion that we propose to have on this issue. These correspond to the various targets agreed by all of us under the SDG 14.

All the proposed themes pertain to important concerns in relation to the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans. They highlight the broad issues in the context of the SDG 14 by focusing attention on the need to address marine pollution, marine & coastal ecosystems, ocean acidification, sustainable fisheries, the cause of SIDS and LDCs, the important area of international cooperation for capacity building and promoting research, and the need to implement the international law as applicable.

Oceans, seas and marine resources provide food, energy and livelihoods of billions of people around the world. Our local habitats, weather patterns as well as global climate are closely interlinked to our seas and oceans. It is, therefore, our collective responsibility to sustainably use these. Greening the Blue economy requires a much greater attention in our collective interest.

We look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue at the Partnership Dialogues during the June Conference.

I thank you, Co-Facilitators.