PM Modi to chair UNSC high-level open debate on Enhancing Maritime Security on August 9

PM Modi will chair the high-level open debate on `Enhancing Maritime Security - A Case for International Cooperation` on August 9 at UNSC, MEA informed.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the high-level open debate on `Enhancing Maritime Security - A Case for International Cooperation` on August 9 at United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said  in a statement on Sunday.

The MEA statement said that the meeting, will be held via video conferencing at 5.30 pm IST. It will focus on ways to effectively counter maritime crime and insecurity and strengthening coordination in the maritime domain. PM Modi would be the first Indian Prime Minister to preside over a UN Security Council Open Debate, the statement said.

Several Heads of State and Government of member states of the UNSC are expected to attend the debate, and high-level briefers from the UN System and key regional organizations too will be present.

The UN Security Council has discussed and passed resolutions on different aspects of maritime security and maritime crime. However, this will be the first time that maritime security will be discussed in a holistic manner as an exclusive agenda item in such a high-level open debate, the statement claimed.

"Given that no country alone can address the diverse aspects of maritime security, it is important to consider this subject in a holistic manner in the United Nations Security Council. A comprehensive approach to Maritime Security should protect and support legitimate maritime activities while countering traditional and non-traditional threats in the maritime domain," the MEA said.

PM Modi had put forward the vision of SAGAR - an acronym for `Security and Growth for all in the Region` in 2015 based on India's civilizational ethos that witnesses the seas as an enabler of shared peace and prosperity.

"In 2019, at the East Asia Summit, this initiative was further elaborated through the Indo-Pacific Oceans` Initiative (IPOI) with a focus on seven pillars of maritime security including Maritime Ecology; Maritime Resources; Capacity Building and Resource Sharing; Disaster Risk Reduction and Management; Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation; and Trade Connectivity and Maritime Transport," the MEA release said.

This vision focuses on cooperative measures for sustainable use of the oceans and provides a framework for a safe, secure, and stable maritime domain in the region.