Admiral Hari Kumar conducts his first overseas visit to Maldives as Naval Chief

New Delhi, Apr 21: In his first overseas visit after assuming the office of the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Admiral R Hari Kumar visited Maldives from Apr 18 to Apr 20. Adm R Hari Kumar hosted a reception onboard Indian Naval Ship Sutlej on 18 Apr 22, in honour of the Defence Minister of Maldives and the leadership of Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF).

 

 

 

 

The Naval Chief also visited MNDF maritime assets and complimented the joint efforts of MNDF personnel and the Indian Navy for maintaining role worthiness of these assets. He presented a consignment of engineering equipment for further sustenance of MNDF ships, thereby reaffirming India’s commitment to the capacity building efforts of the MNDF.

 

 

 

 

 

INS Sutlej, is currently deployed to Maldives for undertaking joint hydrographic survey under the MoU on hydrographic cooperation. The CNS unveiled the first Navigation Chart jointly produced by India and Maldives and handed over hydrography equipment to consolidate organic capabilities of the MNDF.

 

 

Guided by the ‘Five S’ Vision of Sammaan (Respect), Samvaad – (Dialogue), Sahyog – (Cooperation), Shanti – (Peace) and Samriddhi – (Prosperity), articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the visit of the CNS further consolidated bilateral relations between the two close maritime neighbours and also identified new avenues of expanding the scope of bilateral cooperation in defence and maritime domain.