JAMAICA on Tuesday pledged continued support of the intergovernmental agency charged with developing and administering the mineral resources of the deep seabed — the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which is headquartered in Kingston.

In addition, the host country, through junior foreign affairs and foreign trade minister Senator Pearnel Charles Jr, who addressed the assembly and later hosted a reception for some of its members, commended the authority’s membership and leadership for initiatives actioned in the past year and the general progressive development achieved.

“I wish to reassure the secretary general, and indeed Member States, of Jamaica’s continued support to the authority and of our desire to further strengthen the very cordial relationship between Jamaica and the [International] Seabed Authority,” he told the assembly.

“Jamaica will continue to fulfil its obligations under the Headquarters Agreement concluded with the International Seabed Authority as it has done since… 1989,” he added.

As examples of the tangible support extended in the past year, Charles pointed to aesthetic improvements done to the Jamaica Conference Centre building where the authority convenes its annual meetings, and donations to the Satya Nandan Library housed at the secretariat.

The ISA was established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982), which came into force in 1994.

Since then, its work has largely been dedicated to developing the legal, scientific/technical, financial, environmental frameworks involved in sea floor mining. To date, it has issued 29 15-year contracts for exploratory works, the expiration of which is expected to give way to licences for mining. The first six contracts were awarded in 2001 and expired in 2016. They have, however, been granted five-year extensions.

“Congratulations to the ISA members for being true to the spirit and the letter of the Convention in seeking to ensure that this vast global area fulfils the promise of being the common heritage of mankind, with the work being done to ensure that all countries, developed and developing, are beneficiaries of its bounty,” said Charles, who described Jamaica as a proud host.

In terms of the advancement of the ISA’s work, Charles commended the authority on the consultative nature of its drafting of a strategic plan for 2019-2023, the adoption of which is on the assembly’s agenda this week. He also highlighted the preparatory work done in developing Regional Environmental Management Plans with a view to “avoiding possible negative environmental consequences that may arise from the exploration for and exploitation of marine minerals in the area”.

Minister Charles also commended the authority for the voluntary commitments it made at the United Nations Ocean Conference in 2017, noting that deepening relationships with the UN and other international organisations dealing with issues relating to the oceans and seas in the context of the heightened international attention being placed on the sustainable use of oceans and seas can only redound to the authority’s benefit.

The ISA also came in for commendations for having reduced its conference servicing costs by 20 per cent in the past year.

Tuesday’s meetings are part of the ISA’s 24th session, which is scheduled to close on Friday.