Collaborate for Security

Yunus Dar

The defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 22 December 2018 inaugurated the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IOR) at Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) Gurugram. The IFC-IOR will serve as a hub of information sharing and analysis with several countries who have white shipping information exchange agreements with India. The IFC underlines India’s status as the ‘net security provider’ bringing together nations to safeguard the IOR.

Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurating IFC-IOC, along with Adm. Sunil Lanba

Addressing the gathering, Chief of the Naval Staff, Adm. Sunil Lanba said, “In consonance with the Prime Minister’s vision of SAGAR, which stands for ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’, a multitude of projects aimed at the common good of the region have achieved realisation.” He said the IFC-IOR had the potential to play the role of a vital hub of maritime security related information fusion and exchange.

“The IFC-IOR shall be a collaborative construct that will work with partners; countries as well as international agencies; to enhance maritime security and safety. We also aim to work closely with multinational constructs and other information fusion centres,” he added.

“Addressing these myriad challenges requires a very high level of Maritime Domain Awareness and an appropriate mechanism to predict, prevent and respond to contingencies. Howeve