Indian Navy chief to visit Vietnam from Wednesday

Navy Chief, Admiral Sunil Lanba will visit Vietnam from October 4 to 7, holding meetings with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and other ministers and officials, it was announced on Tuesday

Admiral Lanba, who is also the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee, will meet Vietnamese Defence Minister, General Ngo Xuan Lich, Chief of General Staff and Vice Minister of National Defence, Senior Lt Gen Phan Van Giang and Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnam People's Navy, Rear Admiral Pham Hoai Nam.

"The visit aims to consolidate cooperation between the armed forces of India and Vietnam and also to explore new avenues of defence cooperation," an official statement said.A

Apart from important bilateral discussions, he will also visit the National Defence Academy of Vietnam, where he will interact with student officers and faculty members and deliver a talk on the 'Importance of Maritime Power'.A

He will also visit Vietnam Navy's 'Naval Region 4', the Vietnam Naval Academy and lay a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

India and Vietnam have historical and strategic ties and the Indian and Vietnamese navies cooperate on many issues, which include operational interactions, training and exchange of subject matter experts in various fields. The Vietnamese navy also participates in the 'MILAN' inter-Navy interactions organised at Port Blair by the Indian Navy.

Warships from Indian Navy have been regularly visiting ports at Vietnam, with Indian Naval Ships Satpura and Kadmat recently making port call at Hai Phong from September 23-27. The Vietnamese Navy ship Dinh Tien Hoang, a Gepard Class Frigate, also visited Visakhapatnam in February last year to take part in the 'International Fleet Review - 2016'.

The Indian Army and Air Force also maintain robust cooperation with the Vietnamese Army and Air Force, whose officers undergo training at various Indian defence training institutes including National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College.

--IANS

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