REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The government of Sudan wishes to learn ways to combat illegal fishing from Indonesia, Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti said on Tuesday.

Not only Sudan, several other African countries have expressed interest to establish cooperation with the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in fighting illegal fishing, Minister Pudjiastuti stated here at her office on Tuesday.

The governments of Indonesia and Sudan, represented by Secretary General of the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry Sjarief Widjaya and Minister of Foreign Affairs Obiedalla Mohamed Obiedalla Hamdan, respectively, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the fisheries sector and a joint communiqu? on the fight against illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing at the Pancasila Room, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building, on Monday (February 16).

Widjaya remarked that illegal fishing was rampant in Sudan and that the African country wanted to cooperate with Indonesia.

"They consulted with us on ways to combat illegal fishing, and so did we," the secretary general affirmed.

The Indonesian government has been committed to battling illegal fishing since Susi Pudjiastuti began heading the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.

On February 9, the ministry and the navy sunk a Thailand-flagged illegal fishing vessel that was caught in the Natuna Sea, Riau province, on October 30 last year.

"The sinking of the ship proves that we are serious about eradicating illegal fishing practices in our seas. This is also part of efforts to protect our country's sovereignty," Pudjiastuti emphasized.

The ship, KM Laut Natuna 28, which weighed 80 gross tons, was sunk in the Dempo Strait, 60 nautical miles from Batam Island. Three vessels of the Indonesian Navy and three observatory ships of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries were involved in the operation.

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