Jakarta. The blue economy has a huge potential to help ASEAN members move up in the income bracket, thus paving the way for inclusive high economic growth, according to the bloc’s chair Indonesia.

The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) reported that Singapore and Brunei Darussalam were the only high-income ASEAN nations as of 2021. Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand are of the upper-middle income status. 

Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam fall within the lower-middle category and had previously spent at least two decades in the lower-income category. The Philippines has long been stuck in the lower-middle income classification since 1987.

“ASEAN needs a new engine of economic growth to improve the people’s prosperity,” Bappenas head Suharso Monoarfa said at the 2023 ASEAN Blue Economy Forum on Monday.

“Most ASEAN member states are still struggling to [upgrade] from the lower-middle income status or escape the middle-income trap,” Suharso said.

Water makes up over 66 percent of the ASEAN region or about.  About 2.5 percent of the world’s oceans are within Southeast Asia. ASEAN waters also contribute to 15 percent of global fisheries and employ approximately 625 million people in the related sectors, according to Bappenas. 

The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) reported that the global ocean economy's output in value-added could double from $1.5 trillion in 2010 to over $3 trillion in 2030.

“There is no doubt the blue economy can be a new engine of ASEAN’s economic growth. Transitioning to a blue economy provides an opportunity to boost GDP growth while achieving multiple sustainable development goals [SDGs] in ASEAN,” Suharso said.

ASEAN chair Indonesia also told the group to make use of the Global Blended Finance Alliance to unlock the region’s blue economy potential.

“The Global Blended Finance Alliance can help bring together some of the leading investors and experts on the blue economy sectors such as ecotourism, ocean and coastal waste management, sustainable fisheries, etc.,” Suharto told the forum.

Indonesia last year launched the Global Blended Finance Alliance. This platform is expected to hone the capacities of governments, the private sector, and philanthropic bodies in undertaking blended finance.