Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, is to participate in the 8th Indian Ocean Conference (IOC), scheduled to take place from 16–17 February 2025 in Muscat, Oman.
The Indian Ocean Conference is a flagship consultative forum for countries in the Indian Ocean region, organized annually by the Ministry of External Affairs of India, in association with the India Foundation.
The 8th edition of the conference is being held in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Oman and will focus on the theme “Voyages to New Horizons of Maritime Partnership.”
Minister Vijitha Herath is scheduled to address the first plenary session of the Conference on 16 February, speaking on the conference theme.
The conference is expected to bring together ministers and officials representing 60 countries and international organisations from across the Indian Ocean region.
During the conference, the Minister will engage in discussions with his counterparts on key regional maritime issues, and also seek to enhance bilateral relations including economic cooperation, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Notably, Sri Lanka hosted the second edition of the Indian Ocean Conference in Colombo, in 2017.
