India and Saudi Arabia Dive Into Maiden Bilateral Naval Exercises

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:  On August 11, Ambassador Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, in the run up to first bilateral naval exercise between Saudi Arabia and India, accompanied by Real Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Captain Sachin Sequeira, Deputy Chief of Mission Shri N. Ram Prasad and Defence Attaché Col. Gurtej Singh Grewal called on the Governor of Eastern Province HRH Prince Saud Bin Nayef Bin Abdulaziz and briefed him about growing India-Saudi bilateral relations, including in defense and maritime realm.

Indian Naval ships have been increasingly deployed in the region in the recent times on diverse missions varying from safeguarding India’s maritime trade, conducting anti-piracy and anti-narcotic operations, carrying out EEZ surveillance, conducting Hydrographic surveys, carrying out humanitarian and rescue missions and imparting training to naval officers of friendly countries.

The first bilateral Naval Exercise “Al Mohed Al Hindi 2021” is being held at the Jubail port in Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The Naval Exercise, which comes as a follow up to the maiden visit of Indian Chief of Army Staff General M.M. Naravane to the Kingdom in December 2020, is aimed at promoting understanding and furthering interoperability between the two Navies.

​INS KOCHI arrived at Port Al Jubail on 09 August morning and was warmly received by officials of Royal Saudi Naval Force, Border Guards and the Indian Embassy.  On the first day of the visit Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, Indian Navy interacted with Rear Admiral Majid Al Qahtani, Eastern Fleet Commander, Royal Saudi Naval Forces and other senior Saudi officials. The Indian Navy officers also visited the Eastern Fleet headquarters and the King Fahd Naval Academy.

​India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enjoy a close, multi-faceted and strategic partnership covering wide areas such as energy security, trade and economic cooperation, investments, infrastructure development, cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, besides security and defence cooperation.

The bilateral defence partnership has seen a noticeable upswing in the recent past with increased exchange of high-level visits and expanded military training programmes. The two countries have a robust defence cooperation mechanism in the form of Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation (JCDC) as envisaged in the MOU on Defence signed between both countries in February 2014.

Ambassador Dr. Ausaf Sayeed visited INS Kochi on August 10^th and had extensive discussions with Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar, and other senior naval officials. Captain Sachin R.Sequeira, Commanding Officer of INS KOCHI organized a conducted tour of the ship, highlighting its features and capabilities. A press conference was also held on board INS Kochi in which a large number of Saudi media personnel participated during which a briefing was given on the strengthening India-Saudi bilateral ties, with a focus on the growing bilateral defence ties.

India has maintained robust partnerships with countries across the globe, including those in Asia, Africa and in the Indian Ocean region in an effort to enhance cooperation and understanding between important navies of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). India is in favour of promoting collective security of regions and building economic capabilities for our partners, which is the essence of India’s Maritime Doctrine — ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) which was formulated in March 2015.

The sea phase of the exercise will be commencing from 12 August 2021 wherein a number of sea exercises and manoeuvres are planned.