COLOMBO SECURITY CONCLAVE

Why in News?                                                                                                        

In a pioneering endeavour under maritime collaboration among the nations of Colombo Security Conclave (CSC), two scientists from Mauritius and one scientist from Bangladesh boarded the vessel at Cape town on 20 Dec 2023 to participate in the 43rd Antarctic expedition of India led by National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Goa.

What is Colombo Security Conclave?

• It is a regional security grouping comprising India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Mauritius.
• Origin:
• The CSC, initially known as the Trilateral for Maritime Security Cooperation, evolved out of trilateral meetings between NSAs and Deputy NSAs from India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, starting in 2011.
• It came to a standstill after 2014 due to rising tensions between India and the Maldives.
• After its revival and re-branding as the CSC in 2020, Mauritius was added as a member of the grouping.
• Current members of CSC include India, Maldives, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka, while Bangladesh and Seychelles are the two observer nations.
• Cooperation under the conclave focuses on five pillars – maritime safety and security, countering terrorism and radicalisation, combating trafficking and transnational organised crime, cybersecurity and protection of critical infrastructure, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
• A permanent secretariat, based in Colombo, was established in 2021 to coordinate all activities and implement decisions made at the NSA level.