JEDDAH: Indian naval ships the INS Delhi and the INS Aditya, which are on a three-day goodwill visit, are scheduled to participate in a naval exercise with the Royal Saudi Naval Forces in the Red Sea today.
“The passage exercise aims to promote greater interoperability and foster synergy between the two navies by mutual interaction in the practical aspects of seamanship, ship handling and various other naval solutions,” Rear Adm. S.P.S. Cheema, flag officer commanding India’s Western Fleet, told a press conference aboard the INS Aditya at the Jeddah Islamic Port on Saturday.
The INS Delhi, commanded by Capt. L.V. Sarat Babu, and the INS Aditya, commanded by Capt. Sanjiv Raj Kapoor, are part of the Indian Navy’s Western Naval Command based in Mumbai. Cheema, who heads the Task Group, is flying his flag on the guided missile destroyer INS Delhi. The ships are here as part of the Indian Navy’s overseas deployment to Russia, Europe, the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The ships sailed out from Mumbai on May 13 on a two-and-a-half-month voyage.
Cheema said he had professional discussions with his counterpart Rear Adm. Abdullah Al-Sultan, commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces’ Western Fleet.
“Saudi Arabia and India have historically shared strong ties in several spheres. India considers constructive engagement with the Kingdom and other maritime neighbors as a key to mutual progress and prosperity,” he said. “Defense cooperation has been mutually identified as a prominent avenue for promoting bilateral ties. Both nations have been increasingly interacting with each other’s armed forces over the last few years.”
Asked about the growing cases of pirates attacking ships, Cheema said: “Piracy is nothing new. It has been going on since times immemorial. More than 100,000 vessels cross the ocean waters a year. Concerted efforts on the part of the navies of various countries will be able to tackle the menace.”
He said the Indian Navy had been increasingly cooperating with its maritime neighbors to deal with common and transnational maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), such as piracy and sea-borne terrorism. In 2006, India spearheaded the launch of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, a cooperative security initiative for the IOR, with active participation from the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. The Royal Saudi Naval Forces visited India for the first time when the HMS Dammam and the HMS Yanbu sailed into Mumbai in July 2008. Earlier in August 2007, two Indian naval ships the INS Rajput and the INS Betwa undertook a goodwill visit to Jubail.
Cheema said India has made substantial progress in terms of designing and building warships “and the visiting ships are testimony to these capabilities.”
The INS Delhi is equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, while the INS Aditya, a replenishment ship, is capable of sustaining warships for prolonged durations at sea.
Social engagements planned during the visit included an official reception on board the vessels and a meeting hosted by India Forum at the Consulate General of India on Friday evening. Rear Adm. Al-Sultan, Rear Adm. Faraz Al-Rowdan, commander, Navy School, and Rear Adm. Ibrahim Al-Dulaijan, deputy commander, besides other officials from the Royal Saudi Navy and consuls general of the United States, Japan, Germany, Oman and Greece, attended the reception.
School students and members of the community visited the ships in large numbers.
