New Delhi, May 8 (AHN) Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth will inaugurate India’s first International Ophthalmology Research Conference being co-hosted by the Department of Ophthalmology at Army Hospital (Research & Referral), Delhi, on Saturday, an official said.

The two-day event will bring together nearly 200 renowned ophthalmologists from across the country alongside the finest military eye specialists and aims to foster meaningful civil-military cooperation in ophthalmology.

The conference, on May 9 and 10, is being organised by the Department in collaboration with the All-India Ophthalmological Society at Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantonment, an official statement said on Friday.

This event, named All-India Ophthalmological Society - Armed Forces Ophthalmology Update (AIOS-AFOU 2026), will also see the three Service Chiefs and the Defence Secretary in attendance, underscoring the national importance and tri-service character of the event.

It will cover the subject of ophthalmology comprehensively, encompassing the latest advances across all major subspecialties. More than 100 distinguished faculty drawn from AIIMS, New Delhi; PGI, Chandigarh; LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad; Sankara Netralaya, Chennai; Aravind Eye Care System, among other institutes, will attend the conference.

Two internationally acclaimed ophthalmologists -- Chair and Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Nottingham, UK, Professor Harminder Singh Dua and Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist and Clinician Researcher at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, Dr Colin Siang Hui Tan -- will also take part in the event.

Dua is renowned worldwide for his pioneering research in chemical ocular injuries and his landmark discovery of Dua's Layer, a paradigm-shifting contribution to corneal anatomy.

Dr Colin Siang Hui Tan heads the Fundus Image Reading Centre at the National Healthcare Group Eye Institute, and is renowned for his expertise in retinal imaging, diabetic retinopathy, and AI-driven ophthalmic diagnostics, said the statement.

The conference would serve as an inspiring platform for young serving ophthalmologists from across the country to showcase their skills and simultaneously learn from the experts of the craft.