Sixth Bay of Bengal Maritime Dialogue Focuses onPractical Regional Cooperation

The Sixth Bay of Bengal Maritime Dialogue was held in, bringing together senior officials, maritime practitioners, researchers, regional expertsand diplomats to discuss practical cooperation to addresssome of the most pressing maritime challenges facing the Bay of Bengal.

Co-hosted by the Pathfinder Foundation and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) in Switzerland, the two-day Dialogue was held at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo. Building on five previous editions, this year’s meeting placed particular emphasis on moving from policy recommendations to practical, actionable forms of regional cooperation.

The Bay of Bengal remains one of the world’s most economically significant maritime regions, with around a quarter of global maritime commerce passing through its waters. At the same time, the region continues to face increasingly complex challenges, including maritime security concerns, geopolitical competition, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, pressure on shared marine resources, vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure, and the impacts of environmental change. The Dialogue recognised that many of these challenges are transboundary and require sustained cooperation among littoral states.

The Dialogue opened with remarks from Amb. (Retd.) Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman of the Pathfinder Foundation, and Amb. (Retd.) Venu Rajamony, Senior Adviser for South Asia at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. The opening programme also featured a plenary address by H.E. Amb. Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General of BIMSTEC; a recorded keynote address by H.E. Arief Havas Oegroseno, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia; and a special address by H.E. Ambassador Dr. Felix Neumann, German Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Mr. Milinda Moragoda, Founder of the Pathfinder Foundation, also joined the opening session. High Commissioners, Ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions attended alongside senior officials, maritime practitioners, experts and representatives of regional and international institutions.

Discussions on the first day focused on the strategic position of the Bay of Bengal within the wider Indo-Pacific, maritime communications and crisis response, the security of critical undersea infrastructure, and cooperative approaches to managing shared maritime spaces and resources. Participants also discussed ways to strengthen institutional trust and practical coordination among regional actors, improve responses to incidents at sea, protect subsea cables and other critical infrastructure, and promote confidence-building measures in the management of shared maritime spaces.

The second day featured a recorded message from Hon. Tim Watts (MP), Australia's Special Envoy for Indian Ocean Affairs, and the session's deliberations placed strong emphasis on sustainable fisheries governance, including regional approaches to preventing, deterring and eliminating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Discussions also considered the importance of improved evidence and data, the management of shared fish stocks, the reduction of cross-border tensions, and the humanitarian and livelihood dimensions of fisheries governance.

A major feature of this year’s Dialogue was the session “From Adoption to Action,” which built on policy advances and recommendations from the previous five Dialogues and focused on identifying practical ways to achieve actionable outcomes. Participants took part in three breakout discussions on maritime security, inclusion, and data and science diplomacy.

The Dialogue will share its outcomes with regional organisations and the governments of the Bay of Bengal littoral states.

Pictures
1. Ahmed Jawad, Director, PF Amb. (Retd.) Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman of the PF, Ambassador Dr Felix Neumann, German Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Milinda Moragoda, Founder of the Pathfinder Foundation Dr. Pandian Krishnan Pandey, Director, Bay of Bengal Programme – Intergovernmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO) Amb. (Retd.) Venu Rajamony, Senior Adviser for South Asia at CHD and Dr. Mahinda Parakrama Dissanayake, Advisor to the President on Maritime, Ports and Logistics, Sri Lanka two-day Sixth Bay of Bengal Maritime Dialogue

2.Milinda Moragoda, Founder of the Pathfinder Foundation Dr. Pandian Krishnan Pandey, Director, Bay of Bengal Programme – Intergovernmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO) two-day Sixth Bay of Bengal Maritime Dialogue

3. Participant of the two-day Sixth Bay of Bengal Maritime Dialogue attracted local and international participants, with the inaugural session featuring Colombo-based diplomatic missions, including ambassadors and high commissioners.