Goa Maritime Symposium (Opening address) 2022


The fourth edition of the Goa Maritime Symposium (GMS) was conducted by the Naval War College (NWC) at Goa from 31 Oct to 01 Nov 2022. Conceptualised and instituted by the Indian Navy in 2016, the GMS is a forum for fostering collaborative thinking, cooperation and mutual understanding between India and key maritime nations of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Representatives from navies and maritime agencies from 12 friendly foreign Indian Ocean littoral countries, which included Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand, besides India.

The theme of GMS-2022 was "Maritime Security Challenges in the Indian Ocean Region: Converting Common Maritime Priorities into Collaborative Mitigation Frameworks". The theme is underpinned by the idea of ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region' (SAGAR) and five principles of Maritime Security enunciated by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, which imply that the prosperity of our region is interlinked with the maritime fate of all IOR littorals.

Through four panel discussions on dedicated sub-themes, the participants were successful to garner a clear vision for an outcome oriented agenda for the Goa Maritime Conclave which would be hosted by the Indian Navy in 2023. The four sub-themes discussed in four sessions were as follows:

Session 1: Identifying gaps in regulatory and legal frameworks for enforcing maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), including frameworks for possible regional conventions and agreements.

Session 2: Formulation of a common multi-lateral maritime strategy and operating protocols for GMC nations for collective mitigation of maritime threats and challenges in the IOR.

Session 3: Identification and establishment of collaborative training programmes with Centres of Excellence across the IOR.

Session 4: Leveraging activities pursued through existing multilateral organisations in the IOR towards generating collective maritime competencies.

Commodore Nitin Kapoor, Deputy Commandant, Naval War College delivered the welcome address and the Symposium was formally inaugurated by Rear Admiral Rajesh Dhankhar, NM, Commandant, Naval War College. Commodore Anil Jaggi, Commodore (Foreign Cooperation), delivered the closing address.