Colombo Security Conclave members vow to strengthen cooperation on security matters in Indian Ocean Region

New Delhi, Sep 30 (IANS) The ninth Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA)-level meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) was hosted virtually by India on Wednesday, where the member states reiterated their resolve to further strengthen cooperation on vital matters of security in the Indian Ocean Region.

Participants at the Deputy National Security Adviser-level meeting of the CSC included Bangladesh, Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, and Seychelles, according to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The officials of the member states reviewed the decisions taken at the seventh National Security Adviser-level meeting of the CSC held in New Delhi on November 20. They also reviewed the Roadmap for Cooperation and Activities (2025-2026) and expressed satisfaction over the substantial progress made by member states in organising training and capacity building events cutting across the five pillars of cooperation.

“Member States reiterated their resolve to further strengthen cooperation on vital matters of security in the Indian Ocean Region and continue their enduring partnership on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” the MEA mentioned in a statement.

Pavan Kapoor, India’s Deputy National Security Adviser (Strategic Affairs); Brigadier General Muhammad Ali Haider Siddiqui, Director General, Prime Minister’s Office, Armed Forces Division, Bangladesh; Maldives Deputy National Security Adviser Major General Hamid Shafeeg (Retd.); K. Jayeprokash, Acting Principal Coordinator Security Matters, Mauritius Prime Minister’s Office; Joel Morgan, National Security Advisor to Seychelles President; P D Indika L. Wijegunawardana, Additional Secretary (Defence), Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence, led their respective delegations at the meeting.

The CSC Secretariat was represented by the Secretary General of the CSC, Vice Admiral S N Ghormade (Retd.), who has assumed charge in Colombo.

The Colombo Security Conclave is a regional security framework formed in 2020 to promote cooperation among Indian Ocean countries in addressing shared security challenges. The member states of CSC are: India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, Bangladesh, and Seychelles, according to the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services website.

–IANS

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