Bangladesh was inducted as the fifth member of the Colombo Security Conclave at the 8th meeting of deputy national security advisers, hosted virtually by Mauritius on Wednesday. The Seychelles participated as an observer state.
According to a ministry or external affairs release, “Member States reviewed the decisions taken at the 7th DNSA level meeting hosted virtually by Maldives on 12 July 2023, the 6th NSA level Meeting hosted by Mauritius on 7-8 December 2023 and the progress of activities under the Roadmap of Activities for 2023-2024 of the CSC. Member States agreed that the 7th NSA level meeting of the CSC will be held in India later this year.”
India was represented by Deputy National Security Adviser (Internal Affairs) Pankaj Kumar Singh.
The CSC was originally launched as the Trilateral for Maritime Security Cooperation by India, Maldives and Sri Lanka in 2011 following discussions among their respective NSAs, to forge a comprehensive and interlocking security architecture in the South Indian Ocean. New Delhi’s decision to promote this grouping was also driven by the growing Chinese presence and influence in the Indian Ocean Region.
However, the meetings were suspended in 2014 due to the strained relations between India and the Maldives following the election of Abdulla Yameen, a pro-Chinese politician, as the President of Maldives.
The grouping was rebranded and relaunched as the CSC in 2020 with the induction of Mauritius as a member, and Bangladesh and Seychelles as Observer nations.
A permanent secretariat, based in Colombo, was established in 2021 to coordinate and implement decisions taken made at the NSA level.
The five main areas of cooperation among Conclave members include maritime safety and security, countering terrorism and radicalisation, combating trafficking and transnational organised crime, cyber-security and protection of critical infrastructure and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Member states conduct maritime drills and exercises to promote interoperability and best practices.
