34 C
Colombo
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Fifth NSA-Level Meeting concludes in Maldives

Must read

The Fifth National Security Adviser (NSA) level meeting hosted by the Republic of Maldives was successfully held on March 9 and 10 with the participation of the delegations of the founding members of Colombo Security Conclave.

The founding members are the Maldives, India and Sri Lanka. The newest member of the Conclave is Mauritius. Delegations from Bangladesh and Seychelles participated as observers.

A series of trilateral meetings had been convened successfully and the Fourth NSA-Level trilateral meeting was held in Sri Lanka on November 28, 2020.

The inaugural trilateral meeting on Maritime Security Cooperation was held in 2011 as an initiative of the former Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and the current Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The Fifth NSA level meeting in Maldives was attended by Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne representing Sri Lanka; Maldivian Minister of Defence Mariya Ahmed Didi; National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of India, Ajit Doval, KC; and National Security Adviser of Mauritius, Kumaresan Ilango.

The Bangladesh delegation was led by Tarique Ahmed Siddique, Defence and Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Simon Archange Dine, Chief of Staff of Seychelles Defence Forces represented the Seychelles.

Addressing the meeting, General Kamal Gunaratne reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to the Colombo Security Conclave and the intention to actively spearhead in pursuing the common grounds. Sri Lanka will host the Permanent Secretariat of the Conclave.

The key areas of cooperation were identified during the meeting to enhance and strengthen regional security in the following five pillars:

* Maritime Safety and Security
* Countering Terrorism and Radicalisation
* Combating Trafficking and Transnational Organised Crime
* Cyber Security, Protection of Critical Infrastructure and Technology
* 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 Member States of the Conclave reaffirmed their commitment to engage in consistent joint efforts to achieve regional peace and security.

More articles

Latest article