Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar has called for the establishment of a working mechanism among the 13 countries part of the Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC) that is “structure light and functional heavy” as there was a need to have an operational framework that is free, flexible, nimble, responsive and reliable. He also called for development of several regional centres of excellence (CoE) similar to the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) for other aspects of maritime security such as maritime law, maritime search and rescue; and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
“The regional CoEs, once developed, could act as the repository of information, knowledge and best management practices that are exclusively relevant to our waters,” he said addressing the closing ceremony of the 4th edition of the GMC held from October 29 to 31. It was attended by Defence Minister of Comoros Mohamed Ali Youssoufa as well as Chiefs of Navies, Heads of Maritime Forces and senior representatives from 11 countries — Bangladesh, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
