Third UN Ocean Conference opens in Nice; Jitendra Singh leads India's delegation
On 9 June 2025 in Nice, France, the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, opened, with Union Minister Jitendra Singh leading India's delegation.
Summary
The third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), co-hosted by the Governments of France and Costa Rica, opened in Nice on 9 June 2025 and runs to 13 June. It is expected to adopt a political declaration which, with a registry of voluntary commitments, will be called the Nice Ocean Action Plan; UN Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua is the Conference Secretary-General. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of Earth Sciences, leads the Indian delegation and on 9 June held a bilateral with Vidar Helgesen, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, on ocean observation. At the conference India backed swift ratification of the BBNJ Agreement, advocated a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty and launched the 'SAHAV' digital ocean data portal.
Key facts
- Conference
- UNOC3, Nice, 9–13 June 2025
- Co-hosts
- France and Costa Rica
- Expected outcome
- Nice Ocean Action Plan (political declaration + voluntary commitments)
- India
- Delegation led by Jitendra Singh; bilateral with IOC-UNESCO's Vidar Helgesen; SAHAV portal
Practice MCQs 3 questions
The third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), which opened in Nice on 9 June 2025, was co-hosted by which two countries?
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Correct answer: A — France and Costa Rica
UN press release: the 2025 UN Ocean Conference was co-hosted by the Governments of France and Costa Rica.
Vidar Helgesen, who held a bilateral meeting with Jitendra Singh at UNOC3 on 9 June 2025, is the Executive Secretary of which body?
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Correct answer: B — Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
PIB (Earth Sciences): Vidar Helgesen is Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC).
Consider the following statements about UNOC3 (Nice, 9–13 June 2025): 1. The political declaration, together with a registry of voluntary commitments, is to be called the Nice Ocean Action Plan. 2. India launched the 'SAHAV' digital ocean data portal at the conference. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: C — Both 1 and 2
UN press release: the declaration and registry of voluntary commitments will be referred to as the Nice Ocean Action Plan. PIB (Earth Sciences): India launched the 'SAHAV' digital ocean data portal. So both 1 and 2 are correct.