IPRD-2026 closing day discussions in New Delhi on Thursday focused on how countries can share ocean science more fairly and how smaller navies can adopt new maritime technologies, as the Indian Navy's three-day conference ended.

General NS Raja Subramani, Chief of Defence Staff, gave a Special Address on the final day. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh closed the conference with the Valedictory Address.

According to the Ministry of Defence, more than 40 experts and speakers from 20 countries took part over the three days. The Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue 2026 was organised with the National Maritime Foundation (NMF) on the theme of Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

Military practitioners, policymakers, diplomats, academics, maritime industry representatives, media, eminent citizens and students from New Delhi attended the conference over the three days.

General NS Raja Subramani opens final day with Special Address

The day opened with General NS Raja Subramani's address, followed by an interaction with the audience.

IPRD-2026 closing day session examines ocean governance

The first session, Collaborative Approaches to Ocean Governance and Maritime Resilience, was moderated by Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh (Retd), Director-General of the United Service Institution of India.

Professor Deo Florence Onda of the University of the Philippines spoke on a cooperative plan to share Filipino experience in ocean governance. Dr Marie Bourrel-McKinnon, former Chief of Staff at the International Seabed Authority, examined equitable deep-sea research partnerships and resource governance. Sofia Furstenberg-Stott of Future Maritime, Sweden, looked at how marine science and shipping operations can work more closely.

IRIS programme for island states reviewed

Ramraj Narasimhan of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) gave an overview of how the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) programme is being implemented. IRIS is the flagship programme of the CDRI, the coalition India started in 2019, and was launched at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in 2021.

The ministry said the session brought together four parts of a common challenge. These were linking scientific capability with governance, making research partnerships more equitable, strengthening vulnerable island states and ensuring that scientific knowledge informs decisions by maritime industry and public institutions.

Final session takes up dual-use maritime technologies

The last session, Transformative Maritime Technologies and Dual-Use Implications, was moderated by Rear Admiral Guninder Singh Jawanda (Retd). It dealt with technologies that serve both civilian and military purposes.

Dongyoun Cho of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Germany, set out a practical framework for Indo-Pacific cooperation on artificial intelligence and quantum technologies in the maritime domain. Dr Eva Pejsova of the Brussels School of Governance addressed EU and Indo-Pacific mechanisms for responsible governance of dual-use maritime technologies.

Roadmap discussed for small and medium navies

Captain Mark Blaine (Retd) of the South African Navy, from Stellenbosch University, discussed a cooperation roadmap to help small and medium navies adapt these technologies. Commodore Arun Golaya (Retd) considered operational Navy-to-Navy cooperation for their responsible adoption.

Speakers on the IPRD-2026 closing day examined collaborative research, capacity-building and institutional arrangements that would allow partners with different resources and requirements to take part.

The discussion followed Wednesday's address by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who told the conference that technology must not become another source of inequality among nations. Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Chief of the Naval Staff, said the same day that maritime cooperation must go beyond equipment acquisition, so that partner nations can operate, maintain, adapt and upgrade technologies.

Dialogue ends with focus on IPOI and MAHASAGAR

The conference ran five thematic sessions. The opening day on Tuesday covered an Indian Ocean academic network and undersea infrastructure.

The ministry said the deliberations gave greater specificity to actionable outcomes under the Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation pillar of the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, which has seven pillars in all.

According to the ministry, the conference also strengthened the Navy's stance on regional maritime security and collaborative maritime resilience, and gave clearer expression to MAHASAGAR, India's maritime policy of Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.