Indian Union Minister of State for Defense Ajay Bhatt attended and delivered a speech at the opening ceremony.
The ceremony was also joined by Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral R Hari Kumar, ambassadors and defense attachés of participating countries, and representatives of the navies of 39 countries.
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Representatives of participating countries in a group photo at the opening ceremony |
Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau and Deputy Chief of Staff of Naval Region 4 Senior Captain Nguyen Van Ngan attended the event.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Indian Minister of State for Defense Ajay Bhatt welcomed participating countries to MILAN 2022. He laid stress on common challenges that threat maritime security and safety such as pirates, terrorism, marine pollution, human trafficking, and so on. He underlined the importance of enhancing naval cooperation and collaboration to deal with these common issues.
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Indian Minister of State for Defense Ajay Bhatt delivers a speech at the opening ceremony. |
He noted that the exercise’s theme of “Camaraderie - Cohesion - Collaboration” has displayed the common vision of all relevant countries in ensuring stability, safety and freedom of navigation in the region and the world. He said that the exercise will contribute to accelerating information sharing, maritime cooperation, and response to non-traditional security threats.
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Vietnamese naval officers attend the opening ceremony. |
As planned, the two-phase multilateral naval exercise is taking place from February 25 – March 4 at onshore and offshore locations east of Visakhapatnam city. The harbor phase from February 25 to 28 included demonstrations of submarine rescue equipment, maritime seminars, professional exchange, the MILAN Cultural Village, and sports and cultural events. The sea phase from March 1 to 4 will feature joint exercises such as communication, mobilization in formation, air logistics, search and rescue tasks.
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Indian Minister of State for Defense Ajay Bhatt and Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau visit the Vietnamese cuisine booth at the MILAN Cultural Village. |
The same day, the MILAN Cultural Village was unveiled with numerous activities to introduce traditional dishes of participating countries.
Previously, sports competitions such as soccer, volleyball, jogging, and so on were joined by teams from participating countries.
Translated by Trung Thanh