Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the first edition of the bi-annual Naval Commanders’ Conference. Addressing Senior Leadership of the Navy, the minister commended the men and women of Indian Navy for their professionalism and dedication in performing the duties of safeguarding the maritime interest of the nation.
The minister expressed satisfaction with which the Indian Navy has continued to maintain a high operational tempo through regular deployment of ships, submarines and aircraft in the Areas Of Responsibility (AOR).
During her address Nirmala Sitharaman said, “I am confident that Navy's Maritime Domain Awareness in our Areas of Interests will enable it to respond effectively to the various contingencies, such as Search and Rescue, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) and anti-piracy. I am glad that the efforts have already started showing results, with the Indian Navy responding proactively to numerous crisis situations around the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) in the last few months; including the heavy rains and flooding in Sri Lanka and post Cyclone 'Mora' in Bangladesh and Myanmar. I also compliment the Navy for the efficient HADR operations undertaken in the wake of Cyclone ‘Ockhi’ in November last year.”
She further added that the Navy has been playing an important role in furthering our national and foreign policy objectives through active cooperation and engagement with not just IOR littorals, but maritime nations across the globe.
Complimenting the Navy, Sitharaman said that today India and the Indian Navy have emerged as the first port of call and a dependable partner for IOR littoral navies, to address their maritime security needs.
