Professor Mitsutaku Makino is the President of the Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI) at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan. He holds a Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. from Kyoto University and an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge. Previously, he served as Postdoctoral Researcher at Yokohama National University and later as Senior Researcher and Group Head at Japan’s National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, contributing to ecosystem-based fisheries management. Currently a Professor at the University of Tokyo’s Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, he leads global initiatives on sustainable ocean governance and serves in key roles with PICES, IUCN, and leading marine science journals.

Professor V.N. Attri is the former Chair in Indian Ocean Studies (CIOS) at the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), Republic of Mauritius (2014–2020). Renowned as the “Architect of the Blue Economy in the Indian Ocean Region,” he has been pivotal in advancing sustainable ocean development and regional cooperation. A distinguished scholar in International Trade and Finance, his expertise spans Economic Theory, Sustainable Development, and Environmental Economics. He conducted post-doctoral research at UCLA and The George Washington University. Professor Attri founded and edited the Journal of Indian Ocean Rim Studies and co-edited the Handbook of Blue Economy in the Indian Ocean Region (2018).

Dr. Asela K. Kulatunga is a Lecturer in Industrial Systems (E&R) at the Department of Engineering, Faculty of Environment, Science, and Economics, University of Exeter, UK, where he also serves as Director of the MSc Programme in International Supply Chain Management. With two decades of global academic and research experience, he holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Technology Sydney and a B.Sc. in Production Engineering from the University of Peradeniya. His research focuses on sustainability in industrial and supply chain systems, using modelling, simulation, and data analytics to address complex, transdisciplinary challenges through systems thinking and innovation.

With over 52 years of extensive experience in the ocean related fields, I have excelled in leadership roles such as former Maritime Affairs Secretary at esteemed organizations including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Seabed Authority, Jamaica and Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, France and Focal point of the Indian Ocean Rim Association, Mauritius. As a former two-star Admiral of the Bangladesh Navy, I leveraged 38 years of naval expertise to educate future maritime professionals as a Senior Visiting Lecturer at naval establishments both home and abroad. My areas of expertise include International Law of the Sea International humanitarian laws and laws of armed conflict at sea, Blue Economy, maritime governance and strategy, piracy, marine pollution, ocean science & national accounts, and maritime delimitation.

Hussain Sinan is the Director General of Fisheries Management at the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources, Maldives. With over 15 years of experience, he specializes in fisheries management, value-chain analysis, and socio-economic impacts. He has held key international leadership roles, including Chair of the IOTC Standing Committee on Administration and Finance, Co-Chair of the IOTC Coastal States Group (G16), and Chair of the SWIOFC. In 2021, he led the CCSBT performance review panel. A former Nippon Foundation–Ocean Nexus Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie University, Sinan is currently editing a book on strengthening Regional Fisheries Management Organizations.

Hideyuki Shiozawa is the Director of the Division of Island Nations at the Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI), Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF), Japan. He previously served with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as First Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in Fiji and Economic Adviser in the Marshall Islands. Before rejoining SPF in 2015, he was an Associate Program Officer at SPF and a JICA Volunteer Teacher in the Marshall Islands. Appointed Director in July 2024, Mr. Shiozawa has led over 70 ODA projects and 30 SPF initiatives across the Pacific, advancing human resource development and regional cooperation.

Dr. Vijay Sakhuja is Professor and Head of the Center of Excellence for Geopolitics and International Studies (CEGIS) at REVA University. A former Indian Navy officer, he previously served as Director of the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi, and has held research and academic positions at ISEAS–Singapore, CICP–Cambodia, CAPS, ORF, IDSA, and USI. Dr. Sakhuja holds M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has authored and edited over 50 books and monographs on geopolitics, maritime strategy, technology, climate change, and the Blue Economy, including Asian Maritime Power in the 21st Century and Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa.

Nilanthi Samaranayake is an Adjunct Fellow at the East-West Center in Washington and a former Visiting Expert at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Her research focuses on U.S. strategy in the Indian Ocean, the Indian Navy, small South Asian states, and non-traditional security. Previously, she directed the Strategy and Policy Analysis Program at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), leading multidisciplinary research for civilian and military leaders. Before CNA, she spent a decade analyzing public opinion at Pew Research Center and was a fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research. She holds an MSc from LSE and a BA from American University.

Dr. Emadul Islam is a Senior Research Fellow at the Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI) of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan. He previously served as an Adjunct Scholar at the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), USA, and has worked with Transparency International Bangladesh, BRAC, and the Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies at Independent University, Bangladesh. Dr. Islam earned his Ph.D. in Community Development from the University of Malaya under the Yayasan Khazanah Scholarship and was a 2022–2023 Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Northeastern University, USA. His research appears in IJDRR, EJDR, Encyclopedia, and Social Movement Studies.