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The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI) hosted a 22-member delegation from the Pakistan Navy, for an LKI Foreign Policy Round Table on 9 April 2019. The delegation was headed by Rear Admiral Naveed Ahmed Rizvi and comprised senior officials from the Pakistan Navy.

LKI’s Adam Collins and Malinda Meegoda spoke on ‘Economic and Security Challenges in South Asia: A Sri Lankan Perspective.’ Mr. Collins’s presentation focused on the economic significance and the challenges of the Indian Ocean region. He highlighted that the Indian Ocean region is likely to account for a fifth of global GDP and global trade by 2025. Mr. Collins also outlined some of the major challenges that need to be addressed to maximise the region’s future growth potential. These challenges include poor infrastructure, barriers to trade and investment, and large disparities in development within the region.

Mr. Meegoda’s presentation considered Sri Lankan perspectives on non-traditional security threats in South Asia. He spoke on the costs of climate change and its implications for the region and Sri Lanka. Mr. Meegoda also emphasised the need to strengthen the regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) architecture, and proposed that Sri Lanka should aim to establish itself as a regional hub for HADR cooperation efforts.

The subsequent discussion was moderated by Nilupul Gunawardena, Research Fellow at LKI. The discussion focused on a range of diverse economic and security topics such as strengthening regional economic ties, improving the maritime domain awareness (MDA) of littoral states, and the challenges facing global, and regional arms control initiatives.