Member states of the Colombo Security Conclave have agreed on a roadmap for security cooperation. The agreement was reached during the 5th National Security Advisor Level Meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave, held in the Maldives from March 9-10.
The meeting was attended by delegations of the founding members of Colombo Security Conclave; Maldives, India and Sri Lanka, as well as the newest member of the Conclave, Mauritius. Delegations from Bangladesh and Seychelles participated as Observers.
Minister of Defence of the Maldives Mariya Ahmed Didi, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of India Ajit Doval, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka General Kamal Gunaratne and National Security Advisor to Mauritius Kumaresan Ilango, led the discussions at the meeting. Delegation from Bangladesh was led by Defence and Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Tarique Ahmed Siddique, and Seychelles was represented by Chief of Staff of Seychelles Defence Forces, Simon Archange Dine.
During the meeting, member states identified key areas of cooperation to enhance and strengthen regional security in five main pillars, including maritime safety and security, countering terrorism and radicalisation, combating trafficking and transnational organised crime, cyber security and protection of critical infrastructure and technology, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The member states agreed upon a roadmap for further cooperation and collaboration on these pillars of cooperation. The roadmap will facilitate robust mechanisms for coordinated responses capacity building and strengthening information flow between member states.
As maritime neighbours facing similar threats, the conclave reaffirmed their commitment to engage in consistent joint efforts to achieving regional peace and security.