Coastal security related issues and ways to combat piracy will be the main focus of a day-long meeting to be held in New Delhi tomorrow. This is the first ever meeting of the Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM) in the South Asian region. It is being co-hosted by the Indian Coast Guard and Japan Coast Guard under the auspices of Nippon foundation, Japan. According to an official release, the scope of discussions has been expanded to include law enforcement, maritime security, disaster prevention and relief and capacity building.

AIR Correspondent reports that HACGAM is an apex level forum facilitating congregation of all the major Coast Guard Agencies of the Asian region. Presently, there are 21 member organaizations from 17 countries that are part of the initiative. Earlier, the HACGAM meetings were held in places like Tokyo, Malaysia, Singapore, Manila, Bali, Shanghai and Hanoi. The initiative was developed initially in 2004 to discuss cooperation among the member organizations to combat piracy in the region.