Pathfinder Foundation and National Maritime Foundation of India Address Dilemmas of a Strategically Located Island State

In collaboration with the National Maritime Foundation (NMF) of India, Pathfinder Foundation organized an online workshop on May 29, 2024, focusing on the theme "Sri Lanka – Addressing the Dilemmas of a Strategically Located Island State". The Workshop marked the latest engagement between the Pathfinder Foundation and the National Maritime Foundation (NMF) as MoU partners since 2017.

The Workshop delved into three main themes. The first session, moderated by Bernard Goonetilleke, discussed the challenge Sri Lanka faces in balancing its approach towards other states due to its geostrategic location, particularly involving India and China. The Panellists included Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, AVSM & Bar, VSM, Director-General of NMF, and Dr. Harinda Vidanage, Director of International Relations at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.
The second session, moderated by Commodore Manish K Sinha IN, Executive Director of NMF, Prof. Wasantha Rathnayake, Vice-chancellor of Ocean University, along with Comdt R K Shrivastava, Senior Fellow at NMF, discussed the management of fisheries resources in the maritime areas between Sri Lanka and India.

The third session, moderated by Commodore Debesh Lahiri, Senior Fellow at NMF, focused on developing cooperative measures for marine tourism between India and Sri Lanka, including cruise-ship and ferry tourism. The panelists included Ms. Ayushi Srivastava, Associate Fellow, NMF and Mr. Dileep Mudadeniya, Senior Vice President of Global Alliances and Partnerships at John Keells Leisure and Head of Corporate Affairs at John Keells Group.

Through these discussions, the Workshop emphasized the importance of collaborating between India and Sri Lanka to enhance people-to-people and infrastructure connectivity. The participants highlighted the need for initiatives to improve India's image in Sri Lanka and vice versa. Additionally, they emphasized the importance of cooperation on fisheries management, suggesting the establishment of a shared data centre on fisheries involving India and Sri Lanka, covering the Bay of Bengal as well. The Workshop also underscored the significance of developing a regional marketing strategy to promote marine tourism using cruise ships and ferries.