The foreign adviser said the Indian Ocean region is a crucial strategic area that links the Asia-Pacific and African regions, with profound economic, political and security significance

The two-day Indian Ocean Conference begins in Dhaka today as the coastal countries aspire to establish the region as a free, open, inclusive, prosperous and peaceful one.

In his last assignment as India's top diplomat, former Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar had paid a previously unannounced visit to the strategic Indian Ocean island of Seychelles late in January this year when the two countries signed a revised pact to develop military infrastructure on Assumption Island.

Beginning 2016 with a trip to the region for the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) hosted by the Bangladesh Navy in Dhaka sets the tone for the year ahead.