Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue opens in New Delhi on science, technology and academic cooperation

3 November 2026

The Indian Navy's apex-level international strategic dialogue, IPRD-2026, began a three-day run in New Delhi. It is organised with the National Maritime Foundation as the Navy's knowledge partner, and this edition carries the theme 'Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific'. The inaugural address came from Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi (Retd), Chairman of the National Maritime Foundation and a former Chief of the Naval Staff. Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (Retd), the National Maritime Security Coordinator, gave the special address. The first session, on academic networks, research and human capital development, heard speakers offering perspectives from France, Indonesia, Japan and the Maldives, and a monograph titled 'Sea Blindness and Maritime Heritage in India' was released. The second session took up maritime situational awareness, the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness and the protection of critical maritime infrastructure, with views from the Indian Ocean Commission. An ambassadorial interaction called 'Sahyog Ka Samvaad' brought in the envoys of Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Norway.