Sri Lanka is known as the Hub of the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka earned this title through Maritime Cooperation. Maritime Cooperation is an essential tool for Sri Lanka for transportation, trade, foreign direct investment, and security. Historically, Sri Lanka has been a unique player in the Indian Ocean. This great trading legacy has brought great wealth to Sri Lanka. The importance of Sri Lanka in global trade was also mentioned in Alexander the Great’s world map. In 1971, Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the world’s first female Prime Minister, proposed at the United Nations General Assembly to designate the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace. The UN adopted it.
The greatest strength of Sri Lanka to connect with the world is its maritime corporation. In 2018, Sri Lanka assumed the chairmanship of The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectorial Technical and Economic Cooperation to establish economic ties in the maritime industry. It also assumed the chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Reach Rim Association. Through this, Sri Lanka became a focal point for workshops and seminars related to maritime subjects in Sri Lanka.
Recently, the National Security College of Australia and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs jointly held a workshop under the theme of new frontiers in maritime information in Sri Lanka. This workshop was attended by expert intellectuals in this field, commercial entities, various organizations, and regional partners. This was a good opportunity for the new government of Sri Lanka to announce its policy on the Maritime Corporation. However, the only Sri Lankan participants in this workshop were Coast Guard officers. No one from the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs participated in this workshop.
The first step towards connecting Sri Lanka to the world through maritime corporations and security was taken by Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the Defense Secretary. The Galle Dialogue, where world powers discussed maritime security, was an initial step. Ranil also took great interest in maritime corporations during his presidency. The French President focused on Sri Lanka after studying Sri Lanka’s historical role in maritime corporations. Maritime corporations occupy a prominent place in the MOUs signed during Anura’s visit to India and China. It is not a good sign that Anura’s government is avoiding paying major attention to workshops of this nature.
