Bangladesh Navy organized the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) Workshop on 24th August 2022 at the Hotel Radisson Blu in Dhaka. The workshop was held on the theme of ‘Cooperative Approaches for Effective HADR Operations in the Indian Ocean Region’. Besides the host country, representatives of the ten member countries of the IONS HADR Working Group participated in the workshop, both in-person and on the virtual platform. Rear Admiral Mohammad Mozammel Haque, OSP, NUP, ndc, psc, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Personnel), Bangladesh Navy graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.

The opening ceremony started after the Chief Guest's arrival with the Holy Quran's recitation. Afterward, the President of the Seminar Committee and the Director General of BIMRAD, Capt M Minarul Hoque, (H), BCGM, psc, BN delivered a welcome address. Cdre M Hasan Tarique Mondal, (G), NPP, ndc, psc, BN, Director of Naval Operations delivered the keynote speech of the workshop. Then, two seminar sessions were held to discuss the topics at length. In the first session, three of the IONS HADR Working Group member countries, Australia, India and Iran presented their seminar papers. It was followed by a presentation on experience sharing by Mr. Syed Ashraf Ul Islam from Department of Disaster Management, Bangladesh. In the second session, another three member countries namely Maldives, Thailand and France presented their papers, and the Chair of the Department of Disaster Science and Climate Resilience, Dhaka University, Dr. Md. Zillur Rahman spoke on knowledge sharing and policy recommendations about HADR activities. Both of the seminar sessions ended with lively open discussions, and the sessions were moderated by Capt Ahmed Amin Abdullah, (G), BSP, psc, BN. At the end of the workshop, the Chief Guest delivered the concluding remarks.

Along with other distinguish guests, research officers from BIMRAD also participated in this workshop.