Situation in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region will figure prominently during the three-day conference here starting October three.  More than 20 countries will take part in the annual apex-level international Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue(IPRD), organized by the Indian Navy.

Giving details, officials said here on Monday, in focusing upon “Resource-Geopolitics and Security in the Indo-Pacific”, the 2024 edition of the IPRD would explore and elaborate upon the several dimensions of two vital pillars of the IPOI Web, namely, “Marine Resources” and “Resource Sharing”.

This year’s conference would concentrate upon the manner in which traditional and newly identified marine resources are driving contemporary geopolitics and are likely to do so in the foreseeable future.

These include dwindling fish-stocks – with a concomitant increase in Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, especially in oceanic areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Another manifestation of resource-geopolitics is the geopolitical race for cobalt, lithium, nickel, and other hard-to-find minerals, as also rare earth elements (REE) such as tellurium and neodymium that are needed for the millions of batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, and other such renewable-energy devices required to successfully transition from fossil-fuels to renewable sources of energy.

In addition, offshore energy resources such as hydrocarbons, are likely to retain their geopolitical significance, even as more unconventional ones, such gas hydrates and oceanic renewable energy resources – ocean-sourced hydrogen for example, appear likely to drive future geoeconomic strategies across the Indo-Pacific.

The IPRD-2024, through the agency of a series of globally renowned subject-matter experts and eminent speakers, will endeavour to identify mega trends of resource-geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific and posit policy-options that could be pursued to advantage.

Over a period of three days, it would also explore whether and how cooperation, collaboration, and comity might offer alternative pathways within the paradigm of resource-geopolitics.