Kochi: An international conference on 'Security and Prosperity of Bay of Bengal', organised by the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), South Asia, has termed the region a theatre of keen economic and strategic competition. Diplomats, senior government officials, and academicians among others from various countries including Germany, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and
The Maldives are taking part in the conference, which began on Tuesday evening here. The conference was jointly inaugurated by N Ramachandran, Former Chairperson of the Cochin Port Trust along with Nitirooge Phoneprasert, the Consul-General of Thailand in Chennai and Sujeet Kumar, Rajya Sabha MP, at Le Meridien here.
In his inaugural address, Ramachandran said over the years, the Bay of Bengal has been turning out to be a theatre of keen economic and strategic competition. "We have been witnessing a relentless increase in geopolitical competitions and power rivalries in the region, while the Bay region itself has been constantly gaining its economic and geopolitical significance. The region presents many multi-dimensional complexities as far as security is concerned," Ramachandran said.
He said every littoral state here has a fundamental stake in the security of the region as well as in effective ocean governance and it is important that all member nations of the Bay of Bengal community come together, pool their resources and partner with each other, in building their shared future, based on the principles of sustainability, inclusiveness and security for all.
Meanwhile, Phoneprasert, said that the conference would be good for the policy makers to take in the ideas to know what exactly can be done to help integrate and strengthen the progression of Bay of Bengal so that the core countries to this region could benefit from this network of cooperation.
Kumar said the Indo-Pacific today is the most important and strategic geographical entity in the world and the Bay of Bengal is an integral part of the Indo-Pacific.
"India is the largest country adjoining the Bay of Bengal and is one of the prominent members of BIMSTEC, countries which are littoral in the Bay of Bengal and given India's focus in Southeast Asia through its Naval Route Policy and Act East Policy, India is largely focused on connecting with countries in the Southeast and in Southeast Asia," he added.
Hence a lot of issues with regards to security, connectivity and climate change are emerging and this conference will bring a lot of ideas which will be of relevance to all the stakeholders including the government and we hope that the deliberations of the conference are sent to the government so that the security and prosperity of the region can be further enhanced and India can play a leading role in this endeavor. I wish the conference all the success.
The CPPR, in a release said the Bay of Bengal, situated in the threshold of the Indo Pacific region, acts as a nerve centre of sea lanes of communication.
The conference aims to dive deep into significant questions on non-traditional security challenges with respect to economy, trade and investment, livelihoods, climate change, environment, marine governance, energy, human rights, and technology and innovation with the strategic significance of the Bay of Bengal in context to the rising importance of the Indo-Pacific as a new theater of geopolitics.
Frank Hoffman, the Regional Project Manager of Friedrich Naumann Foundation, South Asia said, historically, the Bay of Bengal has played a significant role as a connector where trade, commerce and culture merged. "However, during the post-colonial times, the region was long ignored by great powers as it was characterised by an image of poverty, natural disasters, and political instability. Today, the Bay of Bengal has been receiving increasing attention because of its economic and geopolitical values," Hoffman said.
On November 30, the panel discussions will focus on issues like Prospects and Challenges of Blue Economy in the Bay of Bengal, Towards Enhanced Energy Cooperation in the Bay of Bengal, Fostering Regional Development through Trade and Investment and Harnessing Cooperation for Environmental Sustainability in the Bay of Bengal among others.
Apart from Phoneprasert, David Eggleston, the Deputy Consul General, Australian Consulate-General Chennai, Mongkol Siwaluk, Consul, Economic and Political Section, Royal Thai Consulate-General Chennai, Dr. Abdul Hannan Waheed, CEO, Maldives Qualifications Authority (MQA), Admiral Jayanath Colombage (Retd), Former Foreign Secretary, Sri Lankan Government and Karthikeyan Vaitheeswaran, the Programme Manager, Australian Consulate-General Chennai are expected to participate. (PTI)
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