President inaugurates Galle Dialogue 2018; International Maritime Conference

The Galle Dialogue 2018; International Maritime Conference was inaugurated today (22) in Colombo under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena.

The two-day conference organized by the Ministry of Defence in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Navy for the 9^th consecutive year will be held under the theme “Synergizing for Collaborative Maritime Management”.

Representatives from 50 countries and 17 organizations and foreign scholars and experts in maritime are participating in this event. The purpose of this conference is to provide a common platform for stakeholders of national and international repute to discuss and deliberate maritime related issues and specifically enhance the cooperation of maritime security and sharing of knowledge and information amongst them.

Furthermore, this annual event aims at strengthening the regional maritime cooperation and formulating a global strategy to face common challenges in the maritime domain.

The latest information regarding the Galle Dialogue 2018 can be obtained by visiting the official website of www.galledialogue.lk and facilities have been provided to watch the live stream of the conference on 22nd and 23rd October.

A special memento was presented to the President by Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Sirimevan Ranasinghe.

Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardena, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Kapila Waidyaratne, the Chief of the Defence Staff, Tri-Service Commanders, IGP and others were present on this occasion.