Colombo:
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Saturday took element in the higher-level trilateral maritime dialogue amongst India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Sri Lanka is hosting the fourth trilateral meeting on maritime safety cooperation with India and the Maldives.
The meeting is taking spot right after six years – the final meeting was held in New Delhi in 2014.
“The trilateral meeting among India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives on maritime and security cooperation gets underway,” the High Commission of India in Colombo stated in a tweet.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister and Leader of the House-Parliament, Dinesh Gunawardena, was the chief guest at the occasion, it stated.
The meeting will be attended by observers from Bangladesh, Mauritius and Seychelles, the Sri Lankan military stated Thursday.
Ajit Doval, who arrived in Colombo on Friday for the dialogue, on Friday met Maldivian Defence Minister Mariya Didi and held a cordial and detailed discussion on deepening bilateral partnership with the crucial island nation in the Indian Ocean.
Ajit Doval also met Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Major Gen (Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne on Friday and they agreed on quite a few measures to additional strengthen the “valuable” cooperation in between the two nations which also contributes to peace and safety in the area.
“NSA Ajit Doval met Major Gen(Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne, Defence Secretary of SriLanka & discussed matters pertaining to the growing defence and security partnership between the two countries,” the Indian High Commission in Colombo stated in a tweet.
The higher-level trilateral meeting is made to initiate collective action on maritime safety such as maritime domain awareness, legal regimes, train in search and rescue, maritime pollution response, details sharing, curbing piracy drugs arms and contraband trafficking in the Indian Ocean area.
On Thursday, the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi stated the NSA-level trilateral meeting had served as an productive platform for cooperation amongst Indian Ocean nations.
“The meeting will provide an opportunity for discussion on issues pertaining to cooperation in maritime security in the Indian Ocean region,” the MEA stated in a statement.
The meeting is taking spot amidst China’s attempts to spread its influence in the resource-wealthy Indo-Pacific area.
China views the Maldives as crucial to its Maritime Silk Road project in the Indian Ocean as it has currently acquired Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.