Bengaluru, Feb 3 (IANS): India will host the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) Defence Ministers' Conclave on Thursday on the margins of Aero India 2021. The broad theme of the conclave will be "Enhanced Peace, Security and Cooperation in the Indian Ocean", the ministry of defence said.
Till January 30, 2021, there was total confirmed physical participation from 18 countries including the Defence Ministers of four countries (Maldives, Comoros, Iran and Madagascar), six Ambassadors/High Commissioners (Australia, Kenya, Seychelles, Mauritius, Kuwait and Myanmar), the Defence Secretary of Sudan and the Service Chiefs of 10 countries. Also, six countries are either participating virtually or sending their recorded messages.
The conclave is an initiative to promote a dialogue in an institutional, economic and cooperative environment that can foster peace, stability and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region.
The conclave will address aspects related to Defence Industry co-operation amongst participating countries, sharing of resources available in Indian defence shipyards for design and shipbuilding, and Indian Ports with friendly countries.
It will also address information-sharing towards increased maritime domain awareness, maritime surveillance and cooperation, Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR), Marine Pollution Response activities and development of technologies and capabilities for harnessing marine resources.
The Defence Ministers' Conclave will be followed by two seminars. The first seminar will be conducted by the Indian Navy and the Naval Maritime Foundation and the second seminar will be organised by the Indian Coast Guard and Industry on February 5.
The conclave and the two follow up seminars will be instrumental in realising IOR into a region of 'Peace, Progress and Prosperity' and enhancing the cooperation and coordination among countries of the region for sustainable development and mutual coexistence.
India is geographically central to the Indian Ocean and has a vast coastline of 7,500 kms.
"India's vision for Security and Growth for All (SAGAR), as articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cannot be realised without close cooperation and engagements amongst countries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)," the ministry said.
Navigating through the pandemic year of 2020, India is taking the lead in organizing an international platform for the world Aerospace and Defence (A&D) leaders to exchange ideas and forge partnerships towards synergizing the efforts in the A&D sector.