The Our Ocean Conference (OOC) is a a leading platform for mobilizing action to protect and conserve the global oceans, initiated in 2014. The 10th OOC was held in Busan, South Korea, from April 28 to 30, 2025, with the theme “Our Ocean, Our Action”, with the goal of achieving significant progress in the next decade through the transition from “oceans in crisis” to “oceans of hope”.

The conference focused on 7 main topics including marine conservation, sustainable fisheries, marine pollution, climate change, maritime security, blue economy, and digital oceans, with more than 70 thematic sessions held.

At the opening session of the Conference, the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea and the Mayor of Busan City warmly welcomed more than 2,000 delegates and senior officials from 43 countries and territories. The opening session also included a keynote speech delivered by the 68th US Secretary of State John Kerry, a founder of the OOC, in which he addressed “A Decade of Achievements of the Our Ocean Conference”, and a remark speech of the UN Special Envoy for the Ocean Peter Thomson.

Photo: The Minister of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea opening the OOC

Representatives of the MCD leadership, Ms. Nguyen Thu Hue and Ms. Ho Thi Yen Thu, participated in a number of plenary and thematic sessions in line with the MCD mission of promoting stakeholder engagement in marine conservation and coastal community development in Vietnam. MCD is interested in enhancing capacity to join hands with management agencies and communities to contribute to achieving the goal of 6% of Vietnam’s natural marine area being protected in the coming period.

At the Conference, the World Resources Institute, the OOC Secretariat, released a report on the past ten years, showing that from 2014 to January 2025, of the more than 2,600 global commitments totaling US$133.4 billion that OOC participants had mobilized, 43% had been fulfilled, providing US$23.8 billion in finance, and a large amount of US$109.6 billion was in the process of being implemented.

One of the most important outcomes of the 10th OOC was the mobilization of commitments for action on sustainable oceans, a total of more than 277 new commitments, worth US$9.1 billion, from more than 60 countries and organizations. These commitments aim to address a range of ocean-related issues, including sustainable fisheries, marine pollution and marine protected areas. The conference also served as a platform to celebrate progress made through voluntary commitments from the global ocean community, highlight successful activities, and create new momentum for future collective action.

Photo: Representatives of the MCD leadership, Ms. Nguyen Thu Hue and Ms. Ho Thi Yen Thu, participated in OOC Busan 2025