Foreign minister to address Indian Ocean Conference in Oman

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, is to participate in the 8th Indian Ocean Conference (IOC), scheduled 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. It 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 organizations across the Indian Ocean region.

During the conference, according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement, the Minister will engage in discussions with his counterparts on key regional maritime issues and seek to enhance bilateral relations, including economic cooperation.

Notably, Sri Lanka hosted the second edition of the Indian Ocean Conference in Colombo in 2017.