India took over as the co-Chair of IONS Working Groups on Maritime Security and HADR.

During the Conclave, CNS, IN held fruitful interaction with the host, Adm Adoong Pan-Iam, Commander-in-Chief, Royal Thai Navy and complimented him for taking over Chairmanship of IONS. Both Leaders expressed commitment towards sustaining an upward trajectory of Bilateral Defence engagements including naming of IN - RTN Bilateral based on historical and cultural connect. Further, he also interacted with Heads of Delegation from Australia, Bangladesh, France, Iran, Italy, Malaysia, Maldives, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Spain, and discussed bilateral maritime issues. On the side-lines of Conclave, the CNS also visited Indian Naval Ship Kadmatt, at Bangkok, and interacted with the ship’s crew, commending them for successful long range deployment.

      The 8th edition of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Conclave of Chiefs (CoC) was conducted by Royal Thai Navy at Bangkok

      Thailand from 19 – 22 Dec 23. Chiefs of Navies/ Senior Delegates from 27 Members/ Observer countries participated in the event

      Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, attended the event with a three member Indian Naval delegation.