This region is incredibly important to global security, therefore the goal of the symposium was to increase awareness of Indo-Pacific operational challenges, SOF capability needs, and partnerships with key players in industry, academia, and other government organizations. The symposium also allowed SOF regional and maritime commands to convene, focus on interoperability, build and strengthen international partnerships, and continue to educate industry on current capability gaps.

A critical component of this event’s success was multinational cooperation. For this reason, GSOF sent invitations to fund the participation of SOF representatives from up to 12 Indo-Pacific partner nations.

With that support, plus the nations who funded their own travel, this inaugural event included official attendance from a whopping 24 nations:

Australia
Bangladesh
Canada
Chile
Colombia
France
Germany
Hungary
Indonesia
Italy
Japan
Mongolia
Nepal
New Zealand
Norway
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
Republic of Korea
Romania
Singapore
Spain
Thailand
United Kingdom
USA
The breadth of attendance from not just the Indo-Pacific region, but across the globe, showcases what a consequential region this is to the special operations community.