https://arab.news/rce4f
- Aman Dialogue brings together chiefs of navies, coast guards and defense forces from Feb. 9-10
- Conference to focus on piracy, narco-trafficking and resource exploitation maritime challenges
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan held the inaugural session of the Aman Dialogue 2025 in Karachi on Sunday to foster international maritime cooperation among several countries around the world, stressing the importance of “unhindered activity” in seas to promote economic cooperation.
The Aman Dialogue is being held from Feb. 9-10 and brings together chiefs of navies, coast guards and defense forces. It aims to provide them an opportunity to exchange views on global and regional security and adopt innovative solutions.
This year’s conference is themed: “Secure Seas, Prosperous Future,” and focuses on security challenges in the Indian Ocean. These include strategic competition, piracy, narco-trafficking, non-state actors, resource exploitation, climate change, emerging technologies such as AI and unmanned systems, the blue economy and the need for global collaboration to ensure stability and prosperity.
“The global economic system is almost wholly dependent upon unhindered activity in the maritime domain,” Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said at an event held to mark the opening of the dialogue.
“The uninterrupted use of seas and oceans remain the strategic interests of all nations,” he added.
Asif called on countries to synergize their efforts to extract greater economic gains, saying that the maritime domain is at a “critical crossroads.”
“Our oceans carrying over 80 percent of global trade represent not only shipping lanes but the arteries of global prosperity,” the minister said, adding that the Indian Ocean alone holds over 50 percent of global oil and gas reserves.
The dialogue coincides with the AMAN-25 multinational naval exercise, which kicked off on Friday in Karachi. Pakistan Navy’s fleet commander lauded the participation of 60 nations on Friday, hailing it as a testament to the world community’s desire for peace.
The Pakistan Navy has conducted the AMAN maritime exercise every two years since 2007 under the theme “Together For Peace,” involving ships, aircraft and special operations forces.