Representatives from 25 Indian Ocean nations discuss security, economic growth and cooperation

At the Indian Ocean Conference in Bangladesh on Friday, 25 Indian Ocean states discussed regional economic growth, collaboration, and security.

In many sessions, government officials and academics discussed the Russia-Ukraine war, expressing concerns about how countries in the region would align in the new complex order.

“The Indian Ocean has reemerged as an important area, not only for economic resources, but also because… it has gradually been becoming a theater of geopolitics,” said Dhaka University international relations professor Delwar Hossain. Now we can see that the littoral countries of the Indian Ocean are facing a new scenario, especially Ukraine.”

War-related inflation, supply chain interruptions, and security concerns have plagued the region.

The two-day India Foundation-affiliated conference is in Bangladesh. China is attending as an observer, but Myanmar was excluded due to ongoing unrest after its military coup.

Since 2016, the Indian Ocean Conference has been the region’s premier regional affairs consultative gathering.

The region has 38 countries: 13 in Africa, 22 in Asia, one in Oceania bordering the Indian Ocean, and two European countries that oversee many dependencies or overseas territories.

According to organizers, piracy, terrorism, and geopolitical instability threaten world trade and energy resources in the huge Indian Ocean.

As neighboring countries become more interconnected, former Indian ambassador to Bangladesh Veena Sikri said the area has grown in importance.

China is in confrontation with the U.S., Japan, and India in the Indo-Pacific over sea routes and supremacy, making the meeting essential.

She said the Indo-Pacific is the future, thus this Indian Ocean conference is focused on that.