Context: Fourth Indian Ocean Conference 2019 was recently held in Male, capital of Maldives.

Theme: ‘Securing the Indian Ocean Region: Traditional and Non-Traditional Challenges’.

About Indian Ocean Conference:

Initiated by India Foundation along with its partners from Singapore, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

It is an annual effort to bring together Heads of States/Governments, Ministers, Thought Leaders, scholars, diplomats, bureaucrats and practitioners from across the region.

Why is the Indian Ocean important?

1. It enjoys a privileged location at the crossroads of global trade, connecting the major engines of the international economy in the Northern Atlantic and Asia-Pacific. This is particularly important in an era in which global shipping has burgeoned.
2. Indian Ocean is also rich in natural resources. 40% of the world’s offshore oil production takes place in the Indian Ocean basin.
3. Fishing in the Indian Ocean now accounts for almost 15% of the world’s total.
4. Mineral resources are equally important, with nodules containing nickel, cobalt, and iron, and massive sulphide deposits of manganese, copper, iron, zinc, silver, and gold present in sizeable quantities on the sea bed.
5. Indian Ocean coastal sediments are also important sources of titanium, zirconium, tin, zinc, and copper.
6. Additionally, various rare earth elements are present, even if their extraction is not always commercially feasible.