DD India

The Indian Navy will host the fourth edition of the Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC) for the year 2023 from October 29 to 31 in collaboration with the Naval War College in Goa.

The GMC is part of the Indian Navy’s effort to bring together maritime security experts and academics from around the world to share their knowledge and insights. Previous editions of this event were held in 2017, 2019, and 2021, and provided a forum for naval chiefs and maritime agency leaders to discuss current and future maritime challenges, as well as explore ways to work more effectively together.

The theme for this year’s edition of GMC is “Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean Region: Converting Common Maritime Priorities into Collaborative Mitigating Frameworks”

This theme emphasizes the importance of nations cooperating in the maritime domain to ensure the security of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The Indian Navy’s Chief of Naval Staff, Adm R Hari Kumar, will host senior representatives from 12 Indian Ocean countries, including Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The keynote address will be delivered by India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh.

Participants will engage in discussions covering key topics such as identifying gaps in the IOR’s regulatory and legal frameworks for maritime security, developing a collective maritime strategy, establishing collaborative training programmes, and utilizing existing multilateral organizations to enhance collective maritime capabilities during the conclave. In addition to these discussions, visiting dignitaries will be able to see indigenous warships and the Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) and learn about India’s indigenous shipbuilding industry.

The Goa Maritime Conclave, now in its fourth edition, remains committed to finding regional solutions to the Indian Ocean Region’s security challenges and aims to transform shared maritime priorities into cooperative solutions.