“Galle Dialogue 2017” concludes on successful note
 

The International Maritime Conference, “Galle Dialogue 2017”, organized by the Sri Lanka Navy under the patronage of the Ministry of Defence for the 8^th consecutive time, concluded on a successful note in Colombo this evening (10 October 2017). Delegates from 51 countries and 12 international organizations participated in the two days of discussions underscoring the importance of strengthening ‘Greater Maritime Visibility for Enhanced Maritime Security’.

Sri Lanka Navy’s flagship event, "Galle Dialogue" aims at strengthening the regional maritime cooperation and formulating a global strategy to face common challenges in the maritime domain. Remaining true to its mandate, this year’s conference made way for its stakeholders to deliberate on a broader spectrum of collaborative efforts that need to be fortified to meet the fast growing challenges in the maritime domain.

The concluding remarks of Galle Dialogue 2017 were made by Admiral Susith Weerasekara (Retd). He summed up the proceedings of the two-day discussions, drawing attention to the salient points on the papers delivered and the speeches made and commended the present Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah for raising the academic level of the Galle Dialogue to a whole new level.

Meanwhile, Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy, Rear Admiral Sirimevan Ranasinghe proposed the Vote of Thanks. He stated that the Sri Lanka Navy's annual Galle Dialogue conference had opened new avenues for discussions and analysis that would ultimately aid in strengthening multilateral maritime partnerships among the stakeholders for future endeavours.

He conveyed his deep sense of appreciation for the gracious presence of the Chairperson of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation, H.E. the former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga at the inauguration of the conference and expressed his gratitude to the State Minister of Defence, Hon. Ruwan Wijewardene for gracing this year’s dialogue as the Chief Guest and delivering an insightful keynote address. Rear Admiral Ranasinghe also thanked the Ministry of Defence for the assistance extended and the distinguished guests and diplomats for their gracious participation.

The Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy was also thankful for the cooperation and encouragement given by many countries, institutions, organizations and individuals for the mega event organized annually by the Sri Lanka Navy. Their desire and commitment to establish strong partnerships in the maritime sphere would be the way forward to ensure safer seas for all, Rear Admiral Ranasinghe opined.

Accordingly, the Galle Dialogue came to a successful end upon the conclusion of two days of fruitful deliberations and discussions.