Joint Commander of the French Forces, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Slaars Visited the HQWNC

Joint Commander of the French Forces Deployed in the Indian Ocean (ALINDIEN), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Slaars accompanied by a two-member delegation, visited the Headquarter Western Naval Command (HQWNC) in Mumbai on 18 April 23.

ALINDIEN interacted with Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi.

As per a press statement from the Navy, “During the interaction, growing cooperation between the two navies on the maritime front and enhanced interoperability to bolster maritime security in the region was appreciated by both the sides.” It added that the interaction highlighted the gains achieved by cooperation between the Indian and the French navies in strengthening the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) construct.

Both sides agreed that there is an emergent need to enhance navy-to-navy cooperation keeping in line with the strengthening relations between the two maritime nations.

Bilateral cooperation between India and France, especially in the sphere of maritime security, has been growing. Robustness of the naval partnership and cooperation is reflected in steady improvement in interoperability through conduct of regular exercises, long range deployments by ships and mutually beneficial interaction among high-level envoys.