Heaptalk, Jakarta — Indonesia’s Minister of National Development Planning/Head of Bappenas, Rachmat Pambudy, met in Hanoi with representatives of the Vietnamese government, the EU Ambassador to Vietnam, Julien Guerrier, and the Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam, Karl Van den Bossche, to discuss a trilateral collaboration on sustainable fisheries management.
“We aim to build a triangular cooperation based on comparative advantage. Indonesia has enormous untapped potential, while Vietnam faces the challenge of overfishing. The European Union, with its expertise in technology and governance, can serve as a credible and neutral referee. This complementary partnership benefits all parties involved,” Minister Pambudy stated during the meeting.
The cooperation is considered strategic given Indonesia’s and Vietnam’s complementary conditions within the ASEAN region. Indonesia possesses vast marine areas and significant fisheries resources, but continues to face limitations in fishing fleet capacity and processing infrastructure. In contrast, Vietnam has a well-developed fisheries industry but is constrained by limited maritime territory and overexploitation of fish stocks.
“We cannot operate in silos. That is why we welcome the involvement of the European Union as an experienced and neutral partner, particularly in monitoring systems and traceability mechanisms that are vital for advancing sustainable fisheries across ASEAN,” Minister Pambudy added.
Indonesia aims to enhance its fishing and processing capabilities through data-driven collaboration grounded in sustainability and measurable resource management. Vietnam can secure access to legal and verified fishery inputs, and the European Union can ensure a transparent and accountable regional supply chain.
The discussion also highlighted the EU’s Global Gateway initiative, which supports sustainable infrastructure financing. The initiative has already facilitated projects in Indonesia, including smart cities in the new capital Nusantara, solar energy, railway electrification, and just energy transition. The ASEAN Network for Combating IUU-Fishing (AN-IUU) was identified as a promising platform for cross-country information exchange and training, especially for improving human resource capacity and fisheries monitoring. EU technical support encourages community-based approaches such as fisher training and vessel registration.
Furthermore, ASEAN is encouraged to adopt a quota system and enforce minimum catch sizes, practices already in place under the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. The trilateral cooperation among Indonesia, Vietnam, and the EU is expected to be a concrete step towards establishing a sustainable and inclusive regional fisheries ecosystem while improving the livelihoods of coastal communities across ASEAN.
“It is time for ASEAN to adopt a data-based and sustainable fisheries management system, similar to what has been successfully implemented in the European Union. If this succeeds at the bilateral level, we can replicate it across ASEAN, for the region’s shared prosperity,” Minister Pambudy concluded.
