The Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) is the apex international annual conference of the Indian Navy

The Indian Navy will hold the 2021 edition of the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue from October 27 to 29. It will be an online event, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

To be addressed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue, during the three-day event, will focus on eight specific sub-themes under the broad theme of “Evolution in Maritime Strategy during the 21st Century: Imperatives, Challenges, and, Way Ahead”. Panel-discussions on these sub-themes would be spread over eight sessions on three successive days.

The eight sub-themes are: (1) Evolving Maritime Strategies within the Indo-Pacific: Convergences, Divergences, Expectations and Apprehensions; (2) Adaptive Strategies to Address the Impact of Climate Change upon Maritime Security; (3) Port-led Regional Maritime Connectivity and Development Strategies; (4) Cooperative Maritime Domain Awareness Strategies; (5) Impact of the Increasing Recourse to Lawfare upon a Rules-based Indo-Pacific Maritime Order; (6) Strategies to Promote Regional Public-Private Maritime Partnerships; (7) Energy-Insecurity and Mitigating Strategies; (8) Strategies to Address the Manned-Unmanned Conundrum at Sea.

First conducted in 2018, the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) is the apex international annual conference of the Indian Navy, and is the principal manifestation of the navy’s engagement at the strategic-level, the Ministry of Defence said.

The National Maritime Foundation is the Indian Navy’s knowledge partner and chief organiser of each edition of this annual event. The aim of each successive edition of the IPRD is to review both opportunities and challenges that arise within the Indo-Pacific.

IPRD-2018 focussed on four main sub-themes: maritime trade; regional connectivity; pan-regional challenges such as those of persistent maritime surveillance, the increasing digitisation of the maritime space, and cyber-malevolence within the maritime domain; and, the role of industry in enhancing holistic maritime security.

IPRD 2019 built upon the excellent foundation laid by the inaugural edition and examined five themes: practical solutions for achieving cohesion in the region through maritime connectivity; measures to attain and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific; examining a regional approach to Blue Economy; opportunities from Maritime-Industry 4.0; and, regional opportunities arising from SAGAR and SAGARMALA.

Through this annual dialogue, the Indian Navy and the National Maritime Foundation, continue to provide a platform for incisive discussions pertaining to the geopolitical developments affecting the maritime domain of the Indo-Pacific.