The Indian Navy’s annual ‘Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue 2026’ (IPRD-2026) commenced in New Delhi on November 3. It brought together international maritime experts and policymakers to discuss scientific, technological and academic cooperation within the Indo-Pacific region.
The inaugural session featured an address by Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi (Retd.), Chairman of the NMF and former Chief of the Naval Staff and Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (Retd.), National Maritime Security Coordinator for the Government of India.
Organized in collaboration with the National Maritime Foundation (NMF), the Navy’s knowledge partner, this three-day dialogue aims to translate scientific advancements and institutional partnerships into practical regional cooperation.
The first professional session, ‘Academic Network, Research and Human Capital Development,’ focused on developing academic networks within the Indian Ocean region, enhancing partnerships between universities and strengthening collaboration among research institutions, think tanks and governments.
Representatives from France, Indonesia, Japan and the Maldives shared their views during this session. On this occasion, a monograph titled ‘Sea Blindness and Maritime Heritage in India’ was also released.
During this period, a special diplomatic dialogue titled ‘Sahyog Ka Samvaad’ was also held, in which Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner Mahishini Colonne, the Philippines’ Ambassador Josel F. Ignacio and Norway’s Ambassador May-Elin Stener participated. The event was moderated by Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan (Retd.), Director General of the National Maritime Foundation (NMF).
In the second session, ‘Maritime Situational Awareness and Protection of Critical Maritime Infrastructure,’ discussions focused on information sharing under the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), underwater domain awareness and collaborative approaches to safeguarding critical maritime infrastructure. The ‘Indian Ocean Commission’ also shared its perspective on this subject.
The first day concluded with discussions on concrete recommendations to enhance regional cooperation in science and technology, strengthen maritime information-sharing, and promote academic collaboration across the Indo-Pacific region.
(PIB)
