Minister of Defence Mariya Ahmed Didi has stated enhanced multilateral cooperation is vital to ensure peace and security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The defence minister made the statement while addressing the “Indian Ocean Region Defence Ministers’ Conclave 2021” held in Bengaluru, India.
Addressing the conclave themed “Enhanced Peace, Security and Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region”, Minister Mariya reflected on the contemporary threats and crises facing the region, including Climate Change and the associated challenges of providing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Operations, Maritime Insecurity and challenges to Maritime Domain Awareness such as Piracy and Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported Fishing, Terrorism, Violent Extremism and Foreign Terrorist Fighters, Narcotics and Human Trafficking, Cybercrimes and threats to Aviation Security and Border Security.
Highlighting that 99.7% of the Maldives’ territory is water, Minister Mariya noted that in a geo-strategically dynamic and important setting as the Indian Ocean Region with a population of over 2.7 billion and with two-thirds of the world’s oil shipments and half of all container ships passing through its waters, it is vital that states in the Region synergize their resources and energies to enhance Peace, Security and Cooperation.
Speaking on peace and security, Minister Mariya said peace and security have never been more interconnected in history than now, and that, it is a daily investment and a choice that countries make, which cannot be taken for granted. The minister said IOR states need to push for the preservation and advancement of Peace and Security on a global scale, starting right from their own communities.
For the winning combination of Peace and Security to spill over into the rest of the world, Minister Mariya said the states need to cooperate and prioritize collective action, especially given the unconventional nature of the contemporary threat environment, marked by hybrid threats. She said, while insulation and isolation from one another will not help any state, enhanced intelligence-sharing and cooperation is the way forward, in a world where no state can act alone in preventing and responding to the scourge of hybrid warfare.
The IOR Defence Ministers’ Conclave saw the participation of 27 states, including India, Bangladesh, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Seychelles, Mauritius and Iran.