INS Trikand visits Turkey as part of Indian Navy's overseas deployment

Warship INS Trikand kicked off three-day Turkey visit with its arrival here on Sunday as part of the Indian Navy's overseas deployment to West Asia, Africa and Europe.

The visit seeks to underscore India's peaceful presence and solidarity with friendly countries and to strengthen the existing bonds between India and Turkey. The bilateral naval relations between both sides are expected to strengthen further due to the planned visit of a Turkish warship for the International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam in February.

Apart from professional interactions, a number of sports and social engagements are also planned to enhance co-operation and understanding towards mutually beneficial issues of maritime interest.

INS Trikand, commanded by Captain Vinay Kalia, is a state-of-the-art warship, which is equipped with a versatile range of weapons and sensors capable of addressing threats in all the three dimensions - air, surface and sub-surface.

Indian naval ships are regularly deployed as a part of the Indian Navy's mission of building 'bridges of friendship' and strengthening international cooperation with friendly countries as well as to address maritime concerns in the region, including piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

In addition, the Indian Navy has also been involved in capacity building and capability enhancement of friendly navies in the Indian Ocean Region, besides providing assistance in hydrographic survey, search and rescue and improving maritime domain awareness. A notable recent employment of the Indian Navy was for the evacuation of over 3,000 Indians and citizens from 35 other countries from strife-ridden Yemen in April.