The Galle Dialogue aims at fostering regional maritime cooperation and formulating a global strategy to face common challenges in the maritime domain. This year’s conference made way for the participants to deliberate on a broader spectrum of collaborative efforts, to meet the fast growing challenges in the maritime sphere.
As such, the second day of this interactive parley saw local and foreign defence partners, security experts and analysts presenting the following academic papers for discussion:
* ‘Developing a New Regional Role in HADR’ - Rear Admiral KIatsushi Omachi, Vice President, Maritime Command and Staff College (MCSC), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).
* ‘Synergising Regional Efforts and Resources for HADR’ - Rear Admiral Muhammad Fayyaz Gilani HI(M), Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Training and Evaluation), Pakistan Navy.
* ‘HADR: A Humanitarian Perspective’ – Ken Hume, Head of Armed and Security Forces Unit, International Committee of the Red Cross.
* ‘Making Blue Economy a Reality in the Region: Challenges and Solutions’ - Rear Admiral M. Ashraful Haq, Commander Bangladesh Naval Fleet at Chittagong.
* ‘Harnessing Resources and Expertise to Reap Benefits of Blue Economy’ - Dr. B.P. Terney Pradeep Kumara, General Manager, Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), Sri Lanka.
* ‘Maritime Security Cooperation for Marine Ecosystem Preservation’ – Rear Admiral Dr. Amarulla Octavian, Commander, Indonesian Naval Command and Staff College.
* ‘Recent Development and Challenges: Mitigating Maritime Security Issues through Enhanced Maritime Domain Awareness’ – Captain (N) Matthew Coates, Director Naval Strategy, Royal Canadian Navy.
* ‘Importance of Sharing Maritime Domain Information and Optimizing through Collaboration’ – Rear Admiral Jonathan Mead, Commander Australian Fleet.
* ‘Establishing Information Fusion Centre in Sri Lanka to Reap the Benefit of MDA Already in Place in the Region’ – Commodore YN Jayarathne, Director Naval Training and Deputy Chief Hydrographer, Sri Lanka Navy.
Navy Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Piyal De Silva proposed the Vote of Thanks of the Galle Dialogue 2018. He stated that the Sri Lanka Navy’s annual Galle Dialogue conference had opened new avenues for discussions and analysis that would ultimately aid in the synergy of collaborative maritime management, strengthening multilateral maritime partnerships among the stakeholders.
Apart from that, he also extended his gratitude to the Defence Ministry, as well as the guests and diplomats on behalf of the navy. Further, the Navy Chief of Staff was also thankful for the cooperation and encouragement given for the event by many countries, institutions, organisations and individuals.
