National Institute of Maritime Affairs (NIMA), held one day seminar on “Major Power’s Rivalry in Western Indian Ocean: Response Options for Pakistan” on 03 April 2019 at Pakistan Maritime Museum, Karachi. Former Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Shahid Karimullah NI(M) was the Chief Guest of the event. The main objective of the seminar was to understand the geo-political environment of Indian Ocean Region particularly Western Indian Ocean in contemporary times, identify the interests of major powers in the region, discuss policy options for Pakistan and to explore possible mechanism for cooperation in the Indian ocean region.

Eminent speakers participated in the seminar including Cdre (Retd) Babar Bilal, Director National Institute of Maritime Affairs, Dr. Bilal Munshi, Assistant Professor IBA, Ms. Zaheema Iqbal, Researcher National Institute of Maritime Affairs, Dr. Shaistab Tabbasum, Prof from Karachi University, Mr. Imtiaz Ali an emerging scholar, and Cdre (Retd) Ali Abbas, Director National Center for Maritime Policy Research. Speakers were of the view that Indian Ocean will continue to remain focus of attention of world powers. It will also remain peaceful as global economy is dependent on Energy sources and Sea Lanes passing through it. Moreover, with Gwadar, Chahbahar and Daccan ports along with Srilankan Port of Hambantota, new economic avenues are being set up which will further connect North-South and East-West economies. In this background, Pakistan should continue to emphasize on cooperation amongst all regional and extra regional countries present in Indian Ocean. The Seminar was attended by a large number of dignitaries from academia, media representatives, and researchers from local think tanks.