New Delhi: The three-day fourth edition of the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue 2021 (IPRD 2021) being held here from October 27 as an online event will focus on eight specific sub-themes under the broad theme of “Evolution in Maritime Strategy during the 21st Century: Imperatives, Challenges, and, Way Ahead”.
The panel discussions on these sub-themes would be spread over eight sessions providing ample scope for varied perspectives to be considered. The aim is to encourage a free flow of ideas and views. The themes for the discussion include eight sub-themes including evolving Maritime Strategies within the Indo-Pacific, Convergences, Divergences, Expectations, adaptive strategies to address the Impact of Climate Change upon Maritime Security, Port-led Regional Maritime Connectivity and Development Strategies and Cooperative Maritime Domain Awareness Strategies.
The sessions will be preceded by addresses by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri.
The first IPRD was held in 2018, and is the apex international annual conference of the Indian Navy, and is the principal manifestation of the navy’s engagement at the strategic-level. The National Maritime Foundation is the navy’s knowledge partner and chief organiser of each edition of this annual event. The aim of each successive edition of the IPRD is to review both opportunities and challenges that arise within the Indo-Pacific.
IPRD 2019 built upon the excellent foundation laid by the inaugural edition and examined five themes: practical solutions for achieving cohesion in the region through maritime connectivity; measures to attain and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific; examining a regional approach to Blue Economy; opportunities from Maritime-Industry 4.0; and, regional opportunities arising from SAGAR and SAGARMALA.
Through this annual dialogue, the Indian Navy and the National Maritime Foundation, continue to provide a platform for incisive discussions pertaining to the geopolitical developments affecting the maritime domain of the Indo-Pacific.
