Bengaluru: India will host Indian Ocean Region (IOR) Defence Ministers’ Conclave on February 4 on the margins of Aero India 2021 – Asia’s largest Aero Show which began in Bengaluru from February 3. The broad theme of the conclave will be ‘Enhanced Peace, Security and Cooperation in the Indian Ocean.’

The event will commence with welcome address by Defence Secretary and addresses by Defence Ministers of different IOR Countries. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will deliver the concluding remarks.

Till January 30, there was total confirmed physical participation from 18 countries including Defence Ministers of four countries (Maldives, Comoros, Iran and Madagascar), six Ambassadors/ High Commissioners representing their countries (Australia, Kenya, Seychelles, Mauritius, Kuwait and Myanmar), Defence Secretary of Sudan and Service Chief of 10 countries. Also, six countries are either participating virtually or sending their recorded messages.

The conclave is an initiative to promote dialogue in an institutional, economic and cooperative environment that can foster the development of peace, stability and prosperity in the Indian Ocean Region. The conclave would address aspects related to Defence Industry co-operation among participating countries, sharing of resources available in Indian defence shipyards for design and shipbuilding, Indian Ports with friendly countries, Information-sharing towards increased maritime domain awareness, maritime surveillance and co-operation, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), Marine Pollution Response activities, 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 Indian Navy and Naval Maritime Foundation on February 4 and the second seminar will be organised by Indian Coast Guard/ Bharat Shakti/ Invest India/ Indian Defence Shipyards 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 co-operation 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 km. India’s vision for Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), as articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cannot be realised without close cooperation and engagements among countries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Navigating through the pandemic year of 2020, India is taking the lead in organising an international platform for the world Aerospace and Defence (A&D) leaders to exchange ideas and forge partnerships towards synergising the efforts in the A&D sector.