Appreciating the progress made by India in the field of defence manufacturing, Oman Minister of Royal Office General Sultan bin Mohammed Al Nu’amani agreed that his country could benefit from this progress.
The Minister conveyed this to Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral R. Hari Kumar, who called on him during a three-day visit to the Gulf country that concluded on Wednesday, the Navy said.
India’s relations with Oman have significantly deepened in recent years especially in the maritime domain.
“During the ongoing visit, CNS met with the senior military leadership of Oman. Discussions with the Commander of Royal Navy of Oman focused on bilateral cooperation, highlighting the importance of strategic partnership between the two nations,” the Navy said.
Admiral Kumar discussed with General Al Nu’amani issues related to bilateral defence cooperation and thanked him for the assistance provided to the Indian Navy ships calling ports in Oman.
Indian naval ships on deployment in the Gulf of Aden and the region have been visiting Oman ports for Operational Turnaround (OTR) and P-8I long range maritime patrol aircraft visited Oman for OTR extending their reach and endurance.
Admiral Kumar also visited the Military Technical College, where he was given an overview of courses and programmes conducted in the college, and shown the recently inaugurated Metaverse lab which is used to impart learning through virtual reality modules on various subjects. He also visited the Maritime Security Centre, where he was briefed on its functioning. Discussions on information sharing, including white shipping data, were also held.
Admiral Kumar also met Major Generak Hamid Ahmed Sakroon, President of the Academy of Strategic and Defence Studies (ASDS). Discussing interactions between military studies institutions and need for inculcating a strategic thought process, he offered facilitating interaction between National Maritime Foundation (NMF) and ASDS, the Navy said.
On Wednesday, Admiral Kumar visited Duqm, where he interacted with the crew of INS Trikand, deployed for anti-piracy patrol. He was also given an overview of the port of Duqm and apprised of the various facilities available for ships berthing in the port as well as the ship repair and maintenance facilities, the Navy added.
Coinciding with the visit, the Navy’s indigenously designed and constructed guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam arrived at Port Sultan Qaboos, Muscat on July 30 for a three-day port call which will culminate with a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with the Royal Navy of Oman on August 3.
The Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of Oman engage with each other under numerous foreign cooperation avenues, which include operations, training and exchange of subject matter experts in various fields, the Indian Navy said in a statement at the beginning of the visit.
The 13th edition of the bilateral, biennial naval exercise Naseem Al Bahr, which began in 1993, was conducted off Oman in 2022. The next edition is scheduled to be held in 2024.
