Source: republicworld.com
India’s Chief of Naval Staff met with his Australian counterpart and reviewed the progress of ongoing maritime engagements in Indo-Pacific.
The Chief of Naval Staff of India, Admiral R Hari Kumar, on his first official visit to Australia since being appointed, met the Chief of Royal Australian Navy, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond on Thursday. Both military leaders reviewed the progress of ongoing maritime engagements in the Indo-Pacific and discussed ways to strengthen the partnership of the two navies.
The visit from India’s Navy Chief saw significant discussions on the need to raise the level of synergy and focused efforts between the Indian and Australian navies to overcome maritime challenges. Both the Navy Chiefs expressed their commitment to pursue collaborative activities in multiple areas of bilateral convergence.
The Chief of Naval Staff of India visited Australia from 26 September to 28 September, informed a press release by the Indian Navy. During the visit, Admiral R Hari Kumar also visited the facilities of the Royal Australian Navy at HMAS Penguin and Hydrographic School.
Indian Navy eyes new maritime cooperation opportunities
During the visit, the Navy Chief of India also held meetings with the Vice Chief of Australian Defense Forces, Vice Admiral David Johnston, the Secretary of Defense of Australia, Greg Moriarty, the Chief of Royal Australian Air Force, Air Marshal Robert Chipman and Australia’s Deputy Chief of Joint Operations, Air Vice Marshal Mike Kitcher.
Admiral R Hari Kumar was accompanied by Manpreet Vohra, India’s ambassador to Australia. The Indian Navy Chief further interacted with the members of prominent Australian Think Tanks to understand and formulate new maritime cooperation opportunities.
“The discussions also highlighted the need for raising the level of synergy and focused efforts for overcoming the challenges of the maritime environment,” the press release stated.
Indian Navy’s press release further stated that India and Australia share the commonality of perspectives on numerous contemporary maritime security issues in the Indo-Pacific region and have been working jointly in several bilateral and multilateral panels such as the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), and Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS).
The navies of both nations had recently participated in a multilateral exercise KAKADU where Indian Naval Ship Satpura and one P8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the Indian Navy had been present.
The visit of India’s Navy Chief further consolidated the strong and long-standing bilateral relations between the two countries.
