Sri Lanka participates at 6th Indian Ocean Conference in Dhaka

Sri Lanka’s delegation led by Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva together with State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya participated in the sixth Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) held from 12 to 13 May in Dhaka Bangladesh.

The opening session of the event was inaugurated by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 12 May evening in the presence of around 150 foreign representatives, high level Government delegations and dignitaries from 25 participating countries in the region. With the theme of ‘peace, prosperity and partnership for a resilient future’, the event brought together a gathering of key stakeholders to chart the road map for strengthening the Indian Ocean region.

Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva delivered Sri Lanka’s statement at the special thematic sessions held on 13 May and underscored Sri Lanka’s engagement in the Indian Ocean region for peace, security and inclusive economic development with maritime partner countries. He also highlighted the significance of an enhanced Indian Ocean, regionalism that focuses on augmenting cooperation among the maritime domain and stated that such regionalism should strive to create closer linkages between ASEAN, IORA and BIMSTEC.

In his remarks, Minister De Silva also said that Sri Lanka is committed to further strengthening its partnership and engagement with littoral states and fostering trade to further enhance economic activity in the Indian Ocean including blue green economic initiatives and climate change.

The IOC focuses on bringing regional states and principal maritime partners of the region together on a common platform to deliberate upon the prospects of regional cooperation for security and growth in the region.