The theme of this edition of the conference is “Towards a Stable and Sustainable Indian Ocean”
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will address the inaugural session of the 7th Indian Ocean Conference being held in Perth in Australia on February 9-10, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.
 
The Indian Ocean Conference is a flagship consultative forum for countries in the Indian Ocean Region, organized annually by the Ministry of External Affairs in association with the India Foundation.
 
The inaugural session of the Conference will be also addressed by Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Singapore Foreign Minister Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, the MEA said.
 
The 7th edition of the Indian Ocean Conference is being held in association with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Government of Australia, along with S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore, and Perth-US Asia Centre in Australia.
 
The 7th Indian Ocean Conference will also bring together delegations led by Ministers from over 22 countries and senior officials from 16 countries and 6 multilateral organizations.
 
The Conference will also witness the participation of over 400 social and corporate leaders, policy practitioners, scholars, professionals, and media personnel from about 40 countries.
 
Since its debut in 2016 in Singapore, over the years, the Indian Ocean Conference has played an important role in bringing together countries and principal maritime partners of the region together on a common platform to deliberate upon the prospects of regional cooperation for Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)
 
Previously, the Conference has taken place in Singapore, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Maldives, UAE, and Bangladesh.
 
The 6th Indian Ocean Conference 2023 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was addressed by a President, a Vice President, a Prime Minister, 13 Ministers, 2 Foreign Secretaries and Heads of 3 Multilateral Organisations, and attended by over 300 social and corporate leaders, policy practitioners, scholars, professionals, and media personnel from over 40 countries.