Galle Dialogue 2018 rounds off pledging support for Synergy of Collaborative Maritime Management
 

The Galle Dialogue International Maritime Conference 2018, organized by the Sri Lanka Navy under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence, brought down the curtains on its 9th edition at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo yesterday (23rd October). This year’s conference held under the theme ‘Synergizing for Collaborative Maritime Management’ was attended by representatives of 52 countries and heads of 22 maritime agencies.

Sri Lanka Navy’s flagship event, "Galle Dialogue" aims at fostering 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 the participants to deliberate on a broader spectrum of collaborative efforts, to meet the fast growing challenges in the maritime sphere.

As such, the second day of this interactive parley saw both local and foreign world-wide defence partners, security experts and analysts presenting following academic papers for discussion.

Developing a New Regional Role in HADR - Rear Admiral KIatsushi Omachi, Vice President, Maritime Command and Staff College (MCSC), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF)

Synergizing Regional Efforts and Resources for HADR - Rear Admiral Muhammad Fayyaz Gilani HI(M), Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Training and Evaluation), Pakistan Navy

HADR: A Humanitarian Perspective – Mr. Ken Hume, Head of Armed and Security Forces Unit, International Committee of the Red Cross

Making Blue Economy a Reality in the Region: Challenges and Solutions - Rear Admiral M Ashraful Haq, Commander Bangladesh Naval Fleet at Chittagong

Harnessing Resources and Expertise to Reap Benefits of Blue Economy - Dr. B.P Terney Pradeep Kumara, General Manager, Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), Sri Lanka

Maritime Security Cooperation for Marine Ecosystem Preservation – Rear Admiral Dr. Amarulla Octavian, Commander, Indonesian Naval Command & Staff College

Recent Development and Challenges: Mitigating Maritime Security Issues through Enhanced Maritime Domain Awareness – Captain (N) Matthew Coates, Director Naval Strategy, Royal Canadian Navy

 Importance of Sharing Maritime Domain Information and Optimizing through Collaboration – Rear Admiral Jonathan Mead, Commander Australian Fleet

Establishing Information Fusion Centre in Sri Lanka to Reap the Benefit of MDA Already in Place in the Region – Commodore YN Jayarathne, Director Naval Training & Deputy Chief Hydrographer, Sri Lanka Navy

Rear Admiral Piyal De Silva, the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy proposed the Vote of Thanks of the Galle Dialogue 2018. 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 the synergy of collaborative maritime management, strengthening multilateral maritime partnerships among the stakeholders.

Apart from that, he also extended his sincere gratitude to the Ministry of Defence, all distinguished guests and diplomats on behalf of the Sri Lanka Navy. Further, 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 this mega event organized by the Sri Lanka Navy.

Accordingly, curtains come down on the Galle Dialogue International Maritime Conference 2018, after two days of fruitful discussions among leading regional and extra-regional maritime stakeholders.