The Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue 2025 (IPRD-2025) Concludes in New Delhi
New Delhi. The three-day Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue 2025 concluded on October 30 in New Delhi. The annual apex-level strategic dialogue of the Indian Navy was conducted from October 28 to 30, 2025 and witnessed active participation from globally renowned experts from India and abroad, Senior Officers from Indian Armed Forces and the Government of India, scholars and the public-at-large.
With its overarching theme of ‘Promoting Holistic Maritime Security and Growth: Regional Capacity-Building and Capability-Enhancement’, the seventh edition of the IPRD resonated among its diverse participants and audience, representing more than thirty countries from within the Indo-Pacific and also beyond it.
The day began with a session on ‘Blue Economy (Including Seabed Infrastructure) as an Instrument of Foreign Policy’ during which speakers from Israel, Vietnam, and Philippines presented their perspectives on challenges in protecting critical underwater infrastructure. While the view from Israel centred on connectivity and flow of commodities through underwater infrastructure in the Eastern Mediterranean, the problems of Grey Zone activities in the South China Sea were highlighted by the speakers from Vietnam and Philippines. India’s role as a facilitator and a partner emerged during this session, with focus on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) in West Asian context, and greater ASEAN-India cooperation in the context of Southeast Asia. The session ended with the release of a publication by NMF titled ‘Maritime Perspectives: The Blue Economy and Resilience’.
This was followed by a Special Address by Mr Sanjeev Sanyal, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. In his address Mr Sanyal highlighted India’s rich maritime heritage and laid stress upon a slew of measures that had been initiated by the Government of India for revitalising the maritime sector, in particular ship-building and shipping. Mr Sanyal also acknowledged the invaluable support provided by the Indian Navy in the construction and trials of INSV Kaundinya – a project that is envisaged to enhance maritime consciousness in India by recreating an important part of its historical maritime traditions. He also released a book titled ‘Operationalising Project MAUSAM’ published by the NMF.
The closing day of IPRD-2025 featured discussions on the importance of the Pacific Island Countries in the Indo-Pacific, for which speakers from France, Germany, India, and Papua New Guinea highlighted the significance of the South Pacific Island States and discussed ways to enhance collaboration with them. In the last session of the day, moderated by Mr Sanjiv Ranjan, the Secretary General of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), experts deliberated upon developing greater synergy among mechanisms such as IORA, Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).
The IPRD-2025 organised over three days was well received by all participants and also provided valuable takeaways for policymakers and practitioners. The conference examined ways in which regional collaboration could be customised that would enable identifying and formulating new initiatives for multilateral Maritime Cooperation.
