Indian Ocean Region Needs Collaboration, Not Confrontation

NEW DELHI: The overarching emphasis of the recently held sixth Indian Ocean Conference organized in Dhaka by India Foundation, a Delhi-based think tank, and co-hosted by the Bangladeshi foreign ministry was on peace, prosperity and partnership. It saw ministerial representations from 25 countries besides the participation of some heads of government. Also in attendance were think tankers, analysts, academics, etc. The Indian Ocean is a major conduit for global trade, energy in particular, and is rich in natural resources. It’s also a zone of geopolitical contestation, bedeviled by poor connectivity and natural disasters induced by climate change that threaten the existence of some littoral states. StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale was a participant in the conference and in this episode of ‘Simply Nitin’, he throws light on what happened there and why it’s important that countries in the region get together to meet current and future challenges.