The Indian Navy will hold the 2026 edition of the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) in the national capital from November 3 to 5, with scientific, technological and academic cooperation among Indo-Pacific nations as the central theme, according to a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau on Friday.
The conference is organised with the National Maritime Foundation (NMF), the Navy’s knowledge partner, which is the principal organiser of the event. Experts from 18 countries are expected to attend, including maritime practitioners, scientists, academics and policymakers.
Navy’s annual strategic outreach
The IPRD is the Navy’s annual apex-level international strategic dialogue and the main platform for its outreach at that level. Earlier editions have examined aspects of the seven maritime pillars of the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), which Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at the East Asia Summit in Bangkok in November 2019. The dialogue is also meant to turn the IPOI’s broad framework into specific proposals, in line with India’s maritime vision of MAHASAGAR, short for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.
Why this year’s theme
The statement said the theme reflects a gap in the maritime domain: the oceans are interconnected, but the scientific knowledge, technologies and institutions needed to manage them are unevenly spread across countries. It listed climate change, trade and supply-chain vulnerabilities, pressure on marine resources and threats to critical maritime infrastructure as challenges that cross national borders.
Meeting them, it said, will require stronger cooperation, information-sharing and development of human capital, as well as better technology. The conference will therefore look beyond science, technology, engineering and mathematics to the contributions of the social sciences, life sciences and humanities.
Five sessions
The programme has five thematic sessions:
- Academic Networks, Research and Human Capital Development
- Maritime Situational Awareness and Protection of Critical Maritime Infrastructure
- Oceanographic Science and Climate Resilience
- Collaborative Approaches to Ocean Governance and Maritime Resilience
- Transformative Maritime Technologies and Dual-Use Implications
Discussions will cover joint research, collaborative technology development, responsible governance, appropriate access to scientific data and stronger institutional partnerships.
Opening day
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to deliver the commemorative address on the first day. That day will also include a session titled “Perspectives from the Flag Bridge,” featuring former naval chiefs of India and Sri Lanka, and an ambassadorial interaction called “Sahyog Ka Samvaad.” Ministerial and other special addresses will follow over the three days.
The statement said the dialogue is meant to produce concrete, actionable measures at national, sub-regional and pan-regional levels. These could then be taken up through existing bilateral, trilateral and plurilateral mechanisms for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.