‘Learnings from THE WEEK Maritime Conclave 2025 will be handed over to Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in a week’: Riyad Mathew
Riyad Mathew, Chief Associate Editor and Director, THE WEEK, speaks at THE WEEK Maritime Conclave 2025 at Crowne Plaza in Kochi | Sanjoy Ghosh
THE WEEK Maritime Conclave 2025 is set to become the platform for decision makers, partners, stakeholders, and significant players in the maritime and shipping sector to come together to discuss the challenges.
The outcome of the event—challenges of the industry, and important suggestions—is scheduled to reach the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways in a week, said Riyad Mathew, Chief Associate Editor and Director, THE WEEK.
“The shipping sector is a crucial component in the country’s long-term maritime and economic development stand,” Mathew said, as he welcomed policy makers, stakeholders and “the future of the industry” from across the maritime and naval sectors to Day 1 of THE WEEK Maritime Conclave 2025 at Crowne Plaza in Kochi.
He emphasised how the outcomes of THE WEEK Defence Conclave held in April this year were presented to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in a week.
Similarly, “two months ago, we held THE WEEK Education Conclave where we talked about upskilling India’s youth.
“Two days ago, we held THE WEEK Heritage Summit. We have the honourable Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat with us, addressing the needs and the opportunities for the tourism sector,” Mathew said.
Similarly, the learnings from the Maritime Conclave, in its second edition, would be handed over to Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal.
“In November 2024, we organised the first maritime summit in Chennai with the theme of innovation and navigating the future,” Mathew reminisced.
“In that conclave, we focused on building prosperity through ports and regional connectivity while making use of India’s vast coastline. The outcomes of that conclave were compiled soon after the conference by THE WEEK, and presented to the ministry.”
India’s shipping and ports sector is going through a major transformation, driven by legislative reforms, modernisation of port infrastructure, and focus on sustainability and digitalisation. With Maritime India Vision 2030 and Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, the government seeks to leverage India’s vast coastline and transform the country into a global maritime powerhouse.
THE WEEK Maritime Conclave 2025 is being held on September 15 and 16 at Crowne Plaza in Kochi. The morning of Day 1 saw special addresses from Madhu Nair of CSL and Pradeep Jayaraman of AVPPL, along with a detailed presentation on the shipping arbitration system by Navin Kumar Singh, CEO of India International Arbitration Centre (IIAC), and a showcase by the IPA on the India Maritime Week 2025, an initiative by the Centre.
Maritime