DG Coast Guard elected next executive director of ReCAAP

Director General of Indian Coast Guard K Natarajan was on Thursday elected as the next executive director of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

The Indian candidate obtained two-thirds majority receiving 14 votes out of a total of 21 member countries of ReCAAP, the MEA said in a statement.

According to reports, the Indian candidate defeated the candidates of China and the Philippines.

In its statement, the MEA said the DG Indian Coast Guard was elected as the next Executive Director of ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre, Singapore.

The next executive director is expected to take charge in 2022, it said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar hailed the development of the Indian Coast Guard DG being elected as the next executive director of ReCAAP as a ''fitting recognition of our contribution to maritime security''.

''Congratulate DG Coast Guard for his election as the next Executive Director of ReCAAP, Singapore. A fitting recognition of our contribution to maritime security,'' Jaishankat tweeted.

The ReCAAP is the first regional government-to-government agreement to promote and enhance cooperation against piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia.

The ReCAAP Agreement was launched in November 2006 with 14 Asian Contracting Parties, including North, Southeast, and South Asian countries.

Its contracting members also include Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, the UK, Australia and the US.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)