Overview
- The Indian Navy will host the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD-2026) in New Delhi from Nov 3–5, 2026, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh due to deliver the opening address.
- Organised with the National Maritime Foundation as the Navy’s knowledge partner, this year’s theme is ‘Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.’
- Programme planners have broadened the scope beyond STEM to add social sciences, life sciences and the humanities so experts can address social, legal and governance aspects of ocean problems.
- Five thematic sessions will target joint research and human capital, protection and monitoring of critical maritime infrastructure, oceanographic science and climate resilience, governance and maritime resilience, and dual-use maritime technologies.
- The three-day meeting will gather practitioners, scientists, policymakers and former naval chiefs from 18 Indo-Pacific countries to produce actionable measures that organisers plan to route through existing bilateral, trilateral and plurilateral mechanisms, building on India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative and MAHASAGAR vision.