3rd Coast Guard Global Summit Held in Tokyo with Record Number of Participants (1)

The Nippon Foundation and the Japan Coast Guard co-hosted the 3rd Coast Guard Global Summit (CGGS) in Tokyo for three days from October 30 with a record 96 heads of coast guard authorities and international organizations from 87 countries taking part.

The CGGS is one of the world’s largest platforms for coast guard organizations to coordinate and discuss collaboration on a range of critical maritime issues including maritime security, ocean litter, the depletion of marine resources and the increasing occurrence of climate change-related disasters.

The number of participants in the summit, held for the first time in four years, was nearly triple that of the first CGGS in September 2017, which brought together representatives from 35 countries and regions, and well above the second summit in November 2019 attended by delegates from 84 agencies from 75 nations.

We had the honor of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s presence at the welcome reception on October 30 in which he said that he believed this gathering of coast guard leaders from around the world was an important opportunity to share common values on a broad range of maritime issues through dialogue.

At the opening ceremony on October 31, I said that in an era of rapid globalization, the issues directly affecting the ocean are becoming increasingly diverse and complex. “We need to cooperate and work together to address issues that cannot be resolved by one nation or one region on their own.”

I added that I hope that we will continue to share knowledge from the field and work together to protect the ocean, a “common property of humanity.”

Admiral Shohei Ishii, Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard who presided over the session, said: “To pass on peaceful, beautiful, and bountiful seas to the next generation, it is important to deepen our understanding of common principles of conduct in the marine sector and enhance coast guard functions at the global level.”

(To be continued)

The text of my speech at the welcome reception for the 3rd Coast Guard Global Summit in Tokyo on October 30, 2023, can be seen here.

The text of my speech at the opening ceremony for the 3rd Coast Guard Global Summit on October 31 can be seen here.