NEW DELHI: The third edition of Sagarmanthan: The Great Oceans Dialogue 2026 opened on October 7 with India calling for stronger international cooperation to build a free, open, secure and rules-based global maritime order.
Organised by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) in partnership with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), the two-day dialogue brought together ministers, maritime leaders, naval representatives, port authorities, shipbuilders, financial institutions, international organisations and experts from across the world.
In his message to the gathering, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi emphasised that oceans connect nations rather than separate them and called for greater international cooperation to ensure that the seas remain a source of peace, prosperity and progress.
Launched in New Delhi in 2024 and subsequently held in Mumbai in 2025 as part of India Maritime Week, Sagarmanthan has emerged as an annual platform bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, scholars and multilateral organisations to discuss the blue economy, ports, shipping, maritime logistics and coastal livelihoods.
The dialogue comes amid mounting pressures on the maritime domain, as trade, energy, food and critical minerals move through waters increasingly affected by geopolitical tensions, climate stress and technological disruption, with emerging economies and small island developing states bearing a disproportionate share of the costs of such instability.
The 2026 edition will feature high-level plenaries, ministerial and leadership addresses, fireside conversations, technical sessions, ministerial engagements and studio sessions.
Ministers attending the event include Annick De Ridder, Flemish Minister of Mobility, Public Works, Ports and Sport, Belgium; Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, European Commission; Arvin Boolell, Minister of Agro-Industry, Food Security, Blue Economy and Fisheries, Mauritius; Chandra Bahadur Gurung, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Bhutan; João Jorge Matlombe, Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mozambique; Juras Taminskas, Minister of Transport and Communications, Lithuania; Stefanos Gkikas, Deputy Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Greece; U Tun Lu, Deputy Minister of Transport, Myanmar; and Astrid Bergmål, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway.
Former heads of state and government and former ministers, including former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, former Tunisian Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa and former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, will also participate in the deliberations.
The Government of India will be represented by Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of State Shri Shantanu Thakur and Secretary Vijay Kumar. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan will also participate.
Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur also addressed the opening proceedings, highlighting India’s progress in port-led development and the country’s efforts to strengthen its maritime capabilities through infrastructure development and new-generation maritime legislation.
The discussions at Sagarmanthan 2026 reinforced India’s growing engagement with international maritime partners at a time when the global shipping industry is undergoing significant structural, technological and geopolitical changes.
With Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 providing the long-term framework for India’s maritime development, the dialogue positioned the country as a partner in building a more connected, sustainable and resilient global maritime ecosystem.
The Sagarmanthan 2026 dialogue will continue with further ministerial and expert-level discussions on the future of oceans, shipping, trade, technology and maritime cooperation.
The conference will centre on five thematic pillars: “Steady Straits: Safeguarding Flows in a Fractured World”; “Blue Breakthroughs: Greening Ships and Shipbuilding”; “Complex Seas: Managing Trade, Connectivity, and Turbulence”; “Ocean Societies: Communities, Cultures, and Livelihoods”; and “The Heart of the Deal: Linking Harbour Cities to the Hinterland.”
According to a press release, the dialogue is guided by the conviction that oceans can help bridge a fractured world and that cooperation at sea can contribute to a more stable and inclusive global future. The dialogue also aligns with India’s Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, which places ports, shipping and the blue economy at the centre of the country’s long-term growth.
For its third edition, Sagarmanthan has DP World as its logistics partner, along with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy and Fincantieri. The event is also being held in partnership with the governments of the Netherlands and Norway through their respective foreign ministries, with the OECD, German Maritime Museum and MENA2050 serving as knowledge partners.
