Sunday Nov 24, 2024
Sunday Nov 24, 2024
Saturday, 8 June 2024 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The 21st Shangri-La Dialogue 2024, Asia’s premier security summit, organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), took place in Singapore from 31 May to 2 June.
The Dialogue brings together defence ministers, military chiefs, and high-ranking officials from around the world to discuss urgent security challenges, to exchange views on the most significant security issues faced in the Asia Pacific Region and promote international cooperation. The summit was attended by representatives from 45 countries, with 49 ministerial-level delegates, over 40 senior defence officials and esteemed academics. Sri Lanka was represented at the summit by Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva, Sri Lanka Navy Commander Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera, and High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Singapore Senerath Dissanayaka.
The summit began on 31 May with a keynote address delivered by President of the Republic of the Philippines Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. Special lectures were delivered by President-Elect and Minister for Defence of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 1 and 2 June respectively. The plenary sessions covered a wide range of geo-political issues including building cooperative security in the Asia Pacific, enhancing crisis management amid rising competition, connecting the Indian Ocean and Pacific security, the United States’ Strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific and China’s approach to global security among others.
During the security summit, the Sri Lankan delegation participated in several sessions and discussions, highlighting Sri Lanka’s commitment to regional security and cooperation. Additionally, Sri Lankan delegation held bilateral meetings with counterparts from the Netherlands and the United States to strengthen partnerships and explore new opportunities for collaboration. The focus of the meetings was on improving defence and security cooperation, particularly in the maritime safety, security, and sustainability as well as joint training exercises, and capacity-building.
