The Galle Dialogue international Maritime Conference, held under the theme “Emerging New order in the Indian ocean,” drew to an end yesterday.

The eleventh edition of the conference which was organized by the Sri Lanka Navy, Ministry of Defense and Geopolitical Cartographer commenced on Thursday at the Jetwing LightHouse in Galle, under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The event was also graced by the Navy Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera, dignitaries and maritime representatives from 42 countries and 11 international organizations.

The event, which was held under five sessions, was held under themes such as Maritime Environment Protection, Maritime Domain Awareness, and Collaborative Enforcement for Sustainable Ocean Governance.

 In Parallel with the conference, Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Priyantha Perara held bilateral discussions with and exchanged views with a group of Naval and Defense Chiefs and several academics in the Maritime groups.

 Some of them were Singapore Defence Advisor in India Colonel Raymond Ong, President Indian Foundation Dr. Ram Madhav, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Chinese PLA Navy Rear Admiral LI Pengcheng, Deputy Commander UK Strike Force Commodore SP Kelly, Commandant Sultan Qaboos Naval Academy of Oman Commodore Adnan bin Salim bin Khamis Al Raisi, Director General of Operations and Plan Department of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Rear Admiral Takenaka Nobuyuki, Senior Director Royal Malaysian Navy First Admiral (Commodore) Dr. Tay Yap Leong, Chairman ofthe Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies & Professor of King’s College London Professor Geoffrey Till.

The full text of the press release

The Galle Dialogue 2023 International Maritime Conference, held under the theme "Emerging New Order in the Indian Ocean," concluded on 13th October 2023 with resounding success, marking a significant milestone in charting the course for the future of maritime affairs in the region. The 11th edition of Galle Dialogue International Maritime Conference, organized by the Sri Lanka Navy in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and Geopolitical Cartographer (GC), commenced on 12th October at the Jetwing Lighthouse in Galle. The inaugural ceremony of Galle Dialogue 2023 was held under the patronage of the President and Commander - in - Chief of the Armed Forces of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe and with the esteemed presence of Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera, dignitaries and distinguished guests. Maritime representatives from 42 countries, along with 11 international organizations attended the conference to engage in comprehensive discussions on the challenges and opportunities in the Indian Ocean.

During this five-session international conference, the third, fourth, and fifth sessions were successfully conducted on 13th October 2023. The third session held under the theme ‘Maritime Environment Protection for Collaborative Maritime Prosperity’ was moderated by Professor Geoffrey Till. In that, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director General Operations, Rear Admiral Pradeep Rathnayake discussed the ‘Nexus between Climate Change Impacts and Maritime Security’ and Rear Admiral Md. Khurshed Alam (Retd) focused on ‘Incidents at Sea & the Readiness of Coastal States to Prevent Maritime Environmental Disasters & Post Recovery’. Meanwhile, Ms. Sarah Lou Y. ARRIPOLA addressed the ‘Regulatory & Procedural Framework of Managing Maritime Casualties in Coastal Waters and Admiral Piyal De Silva (Retd) explored the ‘Shared Prosperity through Preserving & Protecting Underwater Maritime Heritage’.

The fourth segment of the conference, moderated by Professor Wade David Turvold, centered on the theme of 'Maritime Domain Awareness.' During this segment, the speakers included Ms. Siji Song, who discussed 'Maritime Domain Awareness: Shifting Paradigms for Merging Interest’ and Vice Admiral Emmanuel SLAARS, who reflected on 'Dark Shipping: Collaborative Efforts Information Fusion’.

The fifth and the last session of Galle Dialogue 2023 was held under the theme ‘Collaborative Enforcement for sustainable Ocean Governance’ and it was moderated by Admiral Professor Jayanath Colombage (Retd). In this session, Dr. Vijay Sakhuja discussed the ‘Role of UNCLOS for the Resolution of Grey Zone Maritime Conflicts’ and First Admiral Dr. TAY Yap Leong focused on ‘Collaborative Governance for Sustainable Development & Marine Resources Management’. Meanwhile, Mrs Shanika Dissanayake reflected on ‘Regional Frameworks for Sustainable Ocean Governance: IORA, SAARC, and BIMSTEC’.

In parallel with the conference, Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera held bilateral discussions and exchanged views with a group of Naval and Defence Chiefs as well as several intellectuals in the maritime fraternity. Among them were Singapore Defence Advisor in India Colonel Raymond Ong, President Indian Foundation Dr. Ram Madhav, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Chinese PLA Navy Rear Admiral LI Pengcheng, Deputy Commander UK Strike Force Commodore SP Kelly, Commandant Sultan Qaboos Naval Academy of Oman Commodore Adnan bin Salim bin Khamis Al Raisi, Director General of Operations and Plan Department of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Rear Admiral Takenaka Nobuyuki, Senior Director Royal Malaysian Navy First Admiral (Commodore) Dr. Tay Yap Leong, Chairman of the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies & Professor of King’s College London Professor Geoffrey Till, German Defence Attaché in Colombo Captain Gerald Koch, Ambassador of Egypt in Colombo H.E. Maged Mosleh, Executive Director & Manager of Operation Department ReCAAP – Singapore Mr. Krishnaswamy Natarajan, CRIMARIO -Project Director Mr. Martin Cauchi Inglott, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff India Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti and Commander Canadian Fleet Pacific Commodore David Mazur.

Concluding the proceedings of Galle Dialogue 2023 International Maritime Conference, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Navy and Director General Operations, Rear Admiral Pradeep Rathnayake proposed the vote of thanks. There, he first expressed his profound gratitude to the Ministry of Defence and the Geopolitical Cartographer (GC) for their collaborative efforts in organizing this major event. Additionally, he conveyed deep thanks to the Navy Chiefs who attended the maritime conference and the intellectuals, diplomatic corps, and resource persons who greatly enriched the 11th edition of the Galle Dialogue. Rear Admiral Pradeep Rathnayake also acknowledged the contributions of the Avant Garde Maritime Services, Dockyard General Engineering Services, Trade Promoters (Pvt) Ltd, Bank of Ceylon, Tokyo Cement, NM Distributors, Hayleys Aventura, Ferentino Tyres, Dialog Axiata and Abans. Furthermore, the Deputy Chief of Staff expressed gratitude towards both the Jetwing Lighthouse and Araliya Hotel management and Commander Southern Naval Area Rear Admiral Chinthaka Kumarasinghe, all departments and staff of the Command for their valuable contributions that played a pivotal role in the conference's success.

Hosting maritime conferences of this nature offers an opportunity to enhance collaboration and share fresh insights, experiences, and tactics necessary for a united response to emerging non-traditional maritime issues in the Indian Ocean region. Moreover, it fosters the growth of cooperation and coordination among the coastal nations in the Indian Ocean region and all the various parties involved in utilizing this region.