India to host key talks on Indo-Pacific region

The external affairs ministry is organising the 6th Indian Ocean Dialogue and Delhi Dialogue XI in New Delhi during December 13-14 and for the first time these two events will be held consecutively and on similar themes.

Updated on: Dec 11, 2019, 05:45:02 IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By Rezaul H Laskar

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India will host two Track 1.5 dialogues this week to highlight its open and inclusive approach to build a “cooperative, free, and rules-based Indo-Pacific” region. The external affairs ministry is organising the 6th Indian Ocean Dialogue and Delhi Dialogue XI in New Delhi during December 13-14 and for the first time these two events will be held consecutively and on similar themes. The two events will intersect on December 13 in a joint ministerial session at which the guests of honour include Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi and Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momin, who will deliver keynote addresses in the presence of their Indian counterpart S Jaishankar. The valedictory address will be delivered by Jaishankar on December 14.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar leaves after the BJP parliamentary party meeting at Parliament House, in New Delhi. (PTI)

The theme for the Indian Ocean Dialogue is “Indo-Pacific: Re-imagining the Indian Ocean through an Expanded Geography”, while the theme for the Delhi Dialogue is “Advancing Partnership in Indo-Pacific”.

The themes are intended to build on the ‘growing recognition of the Indo-Pacific concept in strategic and academic circles within the region and beyond,’ the ministry said in a statement.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More