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New Delhi: India on Wednesday hosted the 9th Deputy National Security Adviser-level meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC), with Bangladesh, Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Seychelles participating virtually.
The member states reviewed decisions taken at the 7th National Security Adviser-level meeting of the CSC, held in New Delhi on 20 November 2025, and assessed progress under the Roadmap for Cooperation and Activities for 2025-26. They noted substantial progress in training and capacity-building activities undertaken by member states across the five pillars of cooperation.
The member states also reiterated their resolve to strengthen cooperation on vital security matters in the Indian Ocean Region and continue their partnership on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
The Indian delegation was led by Pavan Kapoor, Deputy National Security Adviser (Strategic Affairs). Bangladesh was represented by Brigadier General Muhammad Ali Haider Siddiqui, Director General, Prime Minister’s Office, Armed Forces Division; Maldives by Major General Hamid Shafeeg (Retd.), Deputy National Security Adviser; Mauritius by K. Jayeprokash, Acting Principal Coordinator Security Matters, Prime Minister’s Office; Seychelles by Joel Morgan, National Security Advisor to the President; and Sri Lanka by P.D. Indika L. Wijegunawardana, Additional Secretary (Defence), Ministry of Defence.
The CSC Secretariat was represented by its Secretary General, Vice Admiral S.N. Ghormade (Retd.), who has assumed charge in Colombo.
The Colombo Security Conclave emerged from the trilateral India-Sri Lanka-Maldives security cooperation mechanism and has developed into a regional grouping focused on common security challenges in the Indian Ocean. The grouping’s cooperation covers maritime safety and security, countering terrorism and radicalisation, combating trafficking and transnational organised crime, cyber security and protection of critical infrastructure, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
The CSC was formally institutionalised with the signing of its Charter and Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of its Secretariat in Colombo on 30 August 2024. India, Maldives, Mauritius and Sri Lanka signed the founding documents, with the Secretariat established in Colombo. The grouping has since provided a framework for regular NSA-level and Deputy NSA-level consultations and practical cooperation among the participating countries.
The 9th DNSA-level meeting was held more than two years after the 8th meeting, which was hosted virtually by Mauritius on 10 July 2024. At that meeting, India, Mauritius, Maldives and Sri Lanka welcomed Bangladesh as the fifth member state of the CSC, while Seychelles participated as an Observer State.
The 8th meeting also reviewed decisions taken at the 7th DNSA-level meeting, hosted virtually by Maldives on 12 July 2023, and assessed progress under the CSC’s roadmap of activities. The 7th DNSA meeting had been attended by India, Maldives, Mauritius and Sri Lanka, while Bangladesh and Seychelles participated as observers.