The 2019 Xiamen International Ocean Forum and the First Forum on Building a Maritime Community with a Shared Future was held in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, on November 1.

The forum also marked the official start of the 2019 World Ocean Week(WOW) in Xiamen, which runs until November 7 with the theme of "Blue Partnership for a Maritime Community with a Shared Future".

About 500 government officials, experts, scholars, representatives of renowned enterprises and institutions from 40 countries along the Belt and Road attended the opening ceremony.

The ceremony was hosted by Mr.Zhang Yigong, Vice Mayor of Xiamen Municipal People's Government.

Mr. Wang Hong, Member of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Mr. Alvin Martin Da Breo, Minister, Ministry of Climate Resilience, the Environment, Forestry, Fisheries, Disaster Management and Information of Grenada with responsibility for Forestry and Fisheries, and Mr. Li Dejin, Vice Government of Fujian Provincial People's Government, delivered opening remarks.

The half-day forum was divided into two main sessions, discussed topics of "Building Blue Partnership through Dialogue, Cooperation, and Sharing Benefits" and " Sharing Experience and Best Practices for Blue Partnership".

The forum was hosted by Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen Municipal People's Government and Xiamen University, and organized by Secretariat of World Ocean Week in Xiamen and Fujian Institute of Oceanography.