Minister Fonseka attends 7th Indian Ocean Conference in Perth, Australia |19 February 2024
Minister Fonseka (standing third right) in a souvenir with other delegates (Photo: Contributed)
Emphasises promoting maritime security and blue economy
Internal Affairs Minister Errol Fonseka has outlined the importance of the blue economy as a powerful instrument and sustainable model to address challenges.
He made this remark when addressing the 7th Indian Ocean Conference as a speaker on the panel discussing the theme ‘Our Blue Future’.
The yearly conference from February 9 to 10, 2024 in Perth, Australia, was held under the theme ‘Towards a Stable and Sustainable Indian Ocean’ and brought together delegations led by ministers from over 22 countries, with senior officials from 16 countries and six multilateral organisations.
It also saw the participation of 400 social and corporate leaders, policy practitioners, scholars, professionals, and media personnel from 40 countries.
The programme comprised plenary sessions with speakers discussing various issues focusing on maritime security, sustainability and the blue economy.
Minister Fonseka emphasised on the intersection of the blue economy and maritime security which is fundamental for regional prosperity and stability.
He also held bilateral meetings with Dr Jung Pak, United Sates Deputy Secretary for multilateral affairs; Tim Watts, Assistant Foreign Minister of Australia; and Professor Velayoudom Marimoutou, the Secretary General of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC).
There was mutual agreement on the need to collaborate and promote maritime security within the Indian Ocean on account of the existing and re-emerging threats which pose a risk to regional and economic stability.
This also encompasses the need to address the broad spectrum of illegal maritime activities so as to ensure that sea lines of communications, essential for economic and food security remain unhindered.
In his address during the conference, Professor Velayoudom Marimoutou touched on the importance of the two regional centres, namely the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) based in Madagascar and the Regional Centre for Operational Coordination (RCOC) based in Seychelles.
This in terms of joint surveillance missions, crucial to the security of South East Indian Ocean.
He also made the following pledge as he prepares to hand over the leadership of IOC to Seychelles in May 2024.
“Currently, we are focused on the Western Indian Ocean, but we can easily expand to the rest of the ocean and beyond by creating a network with other initiatives and mechanisms,” said Professor Marimoutou.
During his visit to Australia, Minister Fonseka also had the opportunity to meet with the regional director of West Australia for Home Affairs, Samantha Patuto, and discussed topics of border control and security.
The minister also visited the Australian Border Force ports and airport facilities.
Minister Fonseka was accompanied by Captain Gerald Wong-Pool, director of the National Information Sharing and Coordination Centre (NISCC) and Regional Fusion and Law Enforcement Centre for Safety and Security at Sea (REFLECS3).
Contributed
