Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday inaugurated the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) at the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram.
The IOR is vital to world trade and economic prosperity of many countries as more than 75 per cent of the world’s maritime trade and 50 per cent of global oil consumption passes through it.
Speaking on the occasion, Sitharaman said, the objective of having an IFC-IOR is more for partners, equals to work towards keeping the global commons safe and democratically available for all.
She further said, “in addition to utilising the collective wisdom and resources towards addressing the myriad challenges in the region, the IFC-IOR will help interface and integrate, wherein, the country will benefit from each other’s best practices and expertise.”
The Defence Minister added, “IFC-IOR will help foster bonds of trust, camaraderie and partnership.”
Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba was also present at the event. He said that the IFC – IOR shall be a collaborative construct that will work with partners, countries as well as international agencies to enhance maritime security and safety.
“It would also aim to work closely with the multi-national constructs and other information fusion centres,” said Lamba.
He further added that the IFC-IOR would work towards capability building in the region, coordination of incident response and disaster relief, and in time, also share submarine safety information.
Apart from representation by officials from the Ministries of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Shipping and Ambassadors and Resident Defence Attaches of partner countries also participated in the event.
