Goa is set to witness a significant gathering of maritime leaders as the Indian Navy hosts the 5th Goa Maritime Symposium (GMS) at the Naval War College from September 23-24, 2024. The event will bring together naval representatives from 12 Indian Ocean Littoral countries to foster collaboration, cooperation, and mutual understanding in addressing key maritime security challenges.
The theme for GMS 2024, “Common Maritime Security Challenges in the Indian Ocean Region – Progressing Lines of Efforts to Mitigate Dynamic Threats such as Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and other Illegal Maritime Activities,” reflects the growing concerns about evolving maritime threats in the region.
Key Participants: Naval representatives from nations including Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand will engage in strategic dialogues aimed at enhancing maritime security. In addition, observers from Kenya and Tanzania will also attend, broadening the platform’s reach to foster discussions on collective regional security.
Expected Outcomes: The symposium will focus on advancing collaborative security measures to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, a persistent problem threatening the sustainability of marine resources and livelihoods across the Indian Ocean. Additionally, the event will address other pressing illegal maritime activities such as human trafficking, piracy, and drug smuggling, providing a blueprint for coordinated responses across nations.
GMS 2024 will aim to bolster not only India’s maritime relationships but also collective strategies for ensuring a free, open, and secure Indian Ocean Region (IOR). This builds on the successes of previous editions, where key partnerships were forged to enhance domain awareness and joint operations.
As the Indian Ocean grows in strategic importance, GMS 2024 provides a crucial platform for naval diplomacy and an opportunity for regional powers to ensure peaceful, cooperative solutions to the shared challenges of maritime security.