5th meeting of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium on Humanitarian Assistance to be held on December 17

New Delhi [India], December 17 (ANI): The fifth meeting of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Working Group on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) is scheduled for 17 December 2020, said the release of the Ministry of Defence.
The meeting is being coordinated by the Indian Navy being the Chair of the IONS Working Group on HADR. The meeting will be attended by Australia, Bangladesh, France, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Maldives, Oman, and Thailand besides India, said the release.
Owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the fifth meeting of (IONS Working Groups) IWG on HADR has been scheduled through video conference. The event would be inaugurated by Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Director General Naval Operations, and Indian Navy, read the release.
During the meeting, the participants would be sharing their experiences including lessons learned during the conduct of HADR operations undertaken in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the past few years, three IWG have been progressing work in the fields of Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR), Maritime Security & Information Sharing, and Inter-operability.
The IONS is a voluntary and inclusive initiative that brings together navies of Indian Ocean Region littoral states to increase maritime co-operation and enhance regional security. A co-operative forum for discussion on regional maritime issues, it also serves to develop an effective response mechanism against natural disasters. Instituted in 2008, the IONS initiative has grown significantly and presently enjoys wide acceptance across the Indian Ocean Region. (ANI)