Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue 2022 Begins in New Delhi: The fourth edition of the “Indo-Pacific Regional Forum 2022” (IPRD-2022), a three-day apex-level regional strategic dialogue of the Indian Navy, commenced in New Delhi.
November 2022 Current Affairs Quiz
About IPRD:
The IPRD is an annual international conference that seeks to foster exchange of ideas and promote deliberations on maritime issues relevant to the Indo-Pacific which, for India, stretches over a vast, predominantly maritime expanse from the eastern shore of Africa to the western shore of America.
The IPRD is an apex-level international annual conference of the Navy and the principal manifestation of the Navy’s engagement at the strategic level. The National Maritime Foundation (NMF) is the Navy’s knowledge partner and the event’s primary organiser.
Theme Of The Session:
The theme of IPRD-2022 is “Operationalising the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI)”, which was articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 14th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Bangkok on November 4, 2019, the defence ministry said.
More About The Development:
Inaugural session of the event kicked off with Adm Karambir Singh (retd), the incumbent Chairman of the National Maritime Foundation, and former Chief of the Naval Staff, welcoming all present and highlighting the importance of the Indo-Pacific in the prevailing geopolitical scenario, focusing specially upon India’s maritime policy encapsulated by the acronym SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region) and the first-order specificity provided to SAGAR by the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), which had been enunciated by PM Narendra Modi, on 14 November, 2019 when he addressed the 14th East Asia Summit in Bangkok.
What Has Been Said:
Adm R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, detailed the Indian Navy’s outreach in terms of strengthening maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in the Inaugural Address that followed. Kumar brought out numerous challenges that are not only unique to India, but also relevant to other nations in the Indo-Pacific region which broadly included – Imperatives at Home, Influences from Outside and some Intrusive Paradigms, and that these challenges would need collective approach by all stakeholders in the region to ensure safe, secure and stable Indo-Pacific.
He explained that the Indian Navy saw itself as being deeply invested in the actualisation of each of the seven intricately connected spokes or pillars of the IPOI. Further, he reiterated the need to address three predominant and interlinked sectors – security, economy and environment through the medium of IPOI.
Delivering the Keynote Address, Ajay Bhatt, the Raksha Rajya Mantri, who is concurrently the Minister of State for Tourism, said, “India is well prepared to address threats in the current and emerging maritime domain. He emphasised the need to build other aspects of India’s maritime capability, such as the merchant marine, ports, and the capability for sustainable management of the nation’s oceanic resources, in addition to bolstering military capabilities”.
