Indian Coast Guard (ICG) participated in the 20th Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM) from September 3 to 4 at Incheon, South Korea.
“During the meeting, various issues of significance, such as maritime law enforcement, safety and security of life at sea, marine environment protection, illicit trafficking of drugs, weapons and humans and future cooperation were discussed,” the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.
On the sidelines of the HACGAM, the 12th annual bilateral meeting between ICG and the Korea Coast Guard was also held on Wednesday, under the provisions of the MoU signed between the two agencies in March 2006.
The meeting focused on augmenting operational-level interaction and capacity building in the areas of maritime search & rescue, pollution response and law enforcement.
HACGAM primarily focuses on fostering cooperation between the Coast Guards of the member Asian states to ensure and promote safe, secure and clean seas in the region. It is an independent forum with 23-member Coast Guard Agencies and also two associate members in the form of Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
It comprises four Working Groups to enable a focused and goal-oriented approach towards coordinated response and synergy towards common maritime issues.
ICG is the chair of Search and Rescue Working Group and a proactive member of the other Working Groups which include Environmental Protection, Controlling Unlawful Acts at Sea and Information sharing.