Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) jointly organized by the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) of India and Vivekananda International Foundation was conducted in new Delhi with the participation of all BIMSTEC member countries; Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Scholars representing each of member countries presented their views on enhancing land as well as maritime security for the common prosperity.
The Pathfinder Foundation participated in a track 1.5 regional security dialogue as think tanks of BIMSTEC meeting and Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage, Director centers of Indo-Lanka Initiatives and Law of the Sea represented. Additional Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amb. Sumith Nakandala represented the government of Sri Lanka in this dialogue.
The aim of the BIMSTEC think tank dialogue was to assist governments to comprehend the magnitude of these complexities and provide policy options to bridge the chasm in the existing security structure. The Deputy National Security Advisor of India, Amb. Pankaj Saran delivered the inaugural address setting the theme for the deliberations. Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage presented a paper titled “maritime Security, Maritime Order and Capacity Building” and participated in the panel discussion on ‘BIMSTEC security Dialogue- Way Forward’. Admiral highlighted the need to develop a maritime strategy and own narrative for BIMSTEC and move ahead with collaborative, inclusive partnerships for burden sharing in the maritime domain. He furthermore, emphasized the need to find regional solutions for regional problems and suggested that Indian Initiative SAGAR (Security and Growth for all in the Region) as a platform to combine all outcome policy recommendations emanating from host of regional initiative s and forums concerning the Bay of Bengal. Admiral Colombage further proposed that Indonesia should be considered as a member of BIMSTEC and the envisaged new security architecture could be a legally binding, inclusive Code of Conduct (COC) for all stake holders in the BIMSTEC region.
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