he two-day International Conference, jointly organized by the Consortium of South Asian Think Tanks (COSATT), the Institute of National Security Studies (INSS), and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), was inaugurated yesterday (15 May) at the Taj Samudra Hotel, Colombo. The theme of the conference is “Maritime Security of Small, Middle, and Island Nations: Between Competition, Cooperation, and Co-existence.”
Chief of National Intelligence, Major General Ruwan Wanigasooriya (Retd), attended the event representing the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence. The Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda, the Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force Air Marshal Bandu Edirisinghe and the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army Major General Chandana Wickramasinghe attended the event as Guests of Honour.
The keynote address was delivered by the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, during the inaugural ceremony.
Distinguished scholars and professionals from friendly foreign nations - including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Singapore, Bangladesh, Germany and Sri Lanka - participated in the Inaugural session. The conference also witnessed the presence of members of the diplomatic corps, academics and professionals from local and international universities, senior representatives of Sri Lanka’s tri-services, officials from relevant ministries and delegates from both local and international think tanks.
