Thirty-third edition of IMBL meeting held

The 33rd edition of the annual International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) meeting between the representatives of Navies and Coast Guards of India and Sri Lanka was held onboard INS Sumitra on Friday (03) at the Indo-Sri Lanka Maritime Boundary Line off Point Calimere at Palk Bay.

The purpose of the annual IMBL meeting is to enhance connections and share perspectives on strategies that the navies and Coast Guards of two neighbouring countries can implement to address shared maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean Region.

The Sri Lanka delegation at the IMBL meeting was headed by Commander North Central Naval Area, Rear Admiral Kanchana Banagoda and the Indian delegation headed by the Rear Admiral Ravi Kumar Dhingra, Flag Officer Commanding Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Naval Area (FOTNA).

Representatives from Coast Guard Regional Headquarters (East), Defence Adviser to the High Commission of India in Colombo and other senior officers from both countries also participated.

During the meeting, attendees from both the Navies and Coast Guard of both sides engaged in discussions about issues concerning the security of their respective maritime borders in the Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar region, safety of fishermen, measures to curtail trafficking of contraband among other issues and shared perspectives on the advancements made in previous meetings.

Ways and means to enhance existing communication networks and timely sharing of information between the two Navies and Coast Guard aiding in timely actions were also discussed at length.

Both sides reaffirmed the importance of mutual cooperation in operations and agreed to take forward the decisions taken, to strengthen the maritime security in area.