Curtain Raiser Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC) – 2023

The 4th edition of Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC) – 2023 is being held from 29 to 31 October 2023 by the Indian Navy under the aegis of Naval War College, Goa. GMC is the Indian Navy’s outreach Initiative providing a multinational platform to harness the collective wisdom of practitioners of maritime security and the academia towards garnering outcome oriented maritime thought. Previous editions of the biennial event were held in 2017, 2019, and 2021 and it provides a forum for exchange of views by the Chiefs of Navy/ Heads of Maritime Agencies on dealing with contemporary and future maritime challenges, as well as presenting cooperative strategies for enhancing interoperability amongst partner maritime agencies.

The theme for this year’s edition of GMC is “Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean Region: Converting Common Maritime Priorities into Collaborative Mitigating Frameworks“, which has been derived keeping in mind the necessity of ‘synergising and collaborating efforts’ in the maritime domain towards achieving maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). At the GMC-23, Adm R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff of Indian Navy would be hosting Chiefs of Navies/ Heads of Maritime Forces/ Senior Representatives from 12 Indian Ocean littorals, including Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Hon’ble Raksha Mantri, Shri Rajnath Singh has kindly consented to be the Chief Guest and he would deliver the Keynote Address of GMC-23.

The Conclave participants would benefit from interactions with eminent speakers and subject matter experts over four sessions focusing on

• Identifying Gaps in Regulatory and Legal Frameworks for Achieving Maritime Security in the IOR
• Formulation of a Common Multi-lateral Maritime Strategy and Operating Protocols for GMC Nations for Collective Mitigation of Maritime Threats and Challenges
• Identification and Establishment of Collaborative Training Programmes with Center of Excellence across the IOR
• Leveraging Activities Pursued Through Existing Multilateral Organisations in the IOR towards Generating Collective Maritime competencies”.

As part of the conclave, visiting dignitaries would also be afforded an opportunity to witness India’s Indigenous shipbuilding industry at the “Make in India Exhibition” and witness the indigenous warships as also capabilities of the Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV).

In its fourth iteration, the Goa Maritime Conclave continues to strive to find regional solutions to the regional security challenges in the IOR, and fulfil its quest of becoming an ‘outcome-oriented’ forum by converting Common Maritime Priorities into Collaborative Mitigating Frameworks.