With the Indian Ocean region coming to focus globally, littoral countries, including India, have gathered to attend the two-day conference (December 4-5) in Abu Dhabi.
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be addressing the fifth Indian Ocean Conference this year, along with the Sri Lankan President, Fijian Premier and the Maldivian Vice-President, the organisers said.
The conferences is being organised in alliance with the RSIS Singapore, Institute of National Security Studies, Sri Lanka and the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research, UAE.
This year, the theme of the Indian Ocean Conference 2021 is "Indian Ocean: Ecology, Economy, Epidemic".
There will be around 200 delegates and over 50 speakers from 30 countries. The inaugural address will be delivered by President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the think-tank said, media reports said.
Last time, Jaishankar was in Male for the Fourth Indian Ocean Conference 2019, being organised by India Foundation, in association with the Government of Maldives and the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore. Jaishankar was one of the speakers at the event.
The theme of the conference is "Securing the Indian Ocean Region: Traditional and Non-Traditional Challenges" and was organised on September 3-4 in the Maldives capital.
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