Courtesy The Indian Express

The roadmap of activities was expanded in 2022 and adopted by the member countries – India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius – with Bangladesh and Seychelles participating as observer countries.

Commander Coast Guard Region (North-East) Inspector General Iqbal Singh addresses the Colombo Security Conclave in Kolkata, Wednesday. PTI

THE INDIAN Coast Guard on Wednesday organised a tabletop exercise under the aegis of the Colombo Security Conclave in Kolkata, a statement said. Apart from senior officers of the Indian Coast Guard, delegates from Bangladesh, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and national stakeholders in the maritime domain participated in the fourth edition of the exercise, it added.

The Colombo Security Conclave was formed in 2011 as a trilateral maritime security grouping of India, Sri Lanka and Maldives. The roadmap of activities was expanded in 2022 and adopted by the member countries – India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius – with Bangladesh and Seychelles participating as observer countries.

The Conclave underlines regional cooperation and shared security objectives concerning all littoral nations in the Indian Ocean Region, said the statement.

On Wednesday, apart from presentations, discussions were held on several topics pertaining to challenges in the maritime domain such as tackling threats, marine pollution response, search and rescue and damage control at sea. A tabletop exercise was conducted subsequently involving all stakeholders, the statement said.

It [Conclave] aims to make maritime security, marine pollution response and maritime search and rescue priorities for the region. The coming together of the six Indian Ocean region countries indicate the development of sub-regionalism on a common maritime and security platform and is significant in a wider global context as well. Coordination and collaboration amongst the maritime neighbours holds the key for maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean Region,” said the statement.