New Delhi: The Indian Navy will host its annual apex-level international strategic dialogue in Delhi from November 3-5, during which experts from several countries will deliberate on maritime science, ocean governance, climate resilience and emerging technologies, officials said on Friday.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to deliver the commemorative address on day one of the event, they said.
The three-day programme will also feature ministerial and other special addresses, and contributions from maritime practitioners, scientists, academicians, policymakers and experts from 18 countries across the Indo-Pacific, the defence ministry said.
In keeping with the IPRD's emphasis upon solution-oriented dialogue, deliberations of this international conference will concentrate upon the identification of specific, actionable measures at national, sub-regional, and pan-regional levels, which could be thereafter addressed through extant mechanisms for bilateral, trilateral, and plurilateral structures designed to promote comity, cooperation, and collaboration across the Indo-Pacific, it said.
These deliberations will consider "practical pathways" for joint research, collaborative technology development, responsible governance, appropriate access to scientific data and stronger institutional partnerships.
The 2026 edition of the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) will be centred on the theme, 'Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific'.
The conference will bring together experts from 18 countries, and deliberations will focus on academic networks, maritime science, ocean governance, climate resilience, and emerging technologies, they said.
Organised in association with the National Maritime Foundation (NMF), the Navy's knowledge partner and principal organiser of the event, the IPRD is the manifestation of the Indian Navy's annual international outreach at the strategic level,
Successive editions of this dialogue have examined selected dimensions of the seven interconnected maritime lines of thrust of the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 14th East Asia Summit in Bangkok in November 2019, it said in a statement.
In the context of India's maritime vision of MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions), the IPRD seeks to translate the IPOI's broad framework for cooperation into specific, actionable proposals, it said.
"The choice of this year's theme reflects a fundamental feature of the contemporary maritime domain: the oceans are interconnected, but the scientific knowledge, technological capabilities and institutions required to understand and manage them remain unevenly distributed," the statement said.
Climate change, maritime trade and supply-chain vulnerabilities, pressure upon marine resources, and threats to critical maritime infrastructure increasingly transcend national boundaries, it said.
"Effective responses, therefore, require not merely more sophisticated technologies but stronger arrangements for cooperation, information-sharing and the development of human capital. Consequently, IPRD-2026 will examine cooperation beyond the conventional confines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), recognising the essential contributions of the social sciences, life sciences and humanities," it added.
The conference will include five professional thematic sessions spread over three days, which will address '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'; and 'Transformative Maritime Technologies and Dual-Use Implications'.
The opening day will feature a special session titled 'Perspectives from the Flag Bridge', bringing together former naval chiefs from India and Sri Lanka, and a special ambassadorial interaction titled 'Sahyog Ka Samvaad'.