Navy Chief Admiral Tripathi on 5 day Tanzania visit, set to attend wargame

Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi on Saturday began a five-day trip to Tanzania primarily to witness a mega wargame involving the naval forces of India and several African nations.

The Indian Navy and the Tanzania Peoples Defence Force are the co-hosts of the naval exercise titled 'AIKEYME' or Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement off Dar-es-Salaam that will begin on Sunday.

The aim of the wargame is to boost India's maritime security cooperation with the African continent in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new vision for engagement with the Global South.

Modi announced the vision MAHASAGAR or "Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions" for India's engagement with the Global South during his visit to Mauritius last month.

The Indian Navy said Admiral Tripathi is on an official visit to Tanzania from April 12 to 16.

"The visit aims to strengthen maritime cooperation and strategic ties between India and Tanzania, underscoring India's commitment to enhancing defence partnerships in the Indian Ocean Region," it said in a social media post.

The maiden edition of the large-scale multilateral exercise Africa India Key Maritime Engagement AIKEYME, being co-hosted by the Indian Navy and the Tanzania People's Defence Force is scheduled to be jointly inaugurated at Dar-es-Salaam on April 13, it said.

The six-day exercise is set to see participation of Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and South Africa in addition to the co-hosts, officials said.

India and Africa have been cooperating in tackling maritime security threats such as piracy, illegal activities including trafficking, unregulated and unreported fishing through sharing of information and surveillance.

However, the 'AIKEYME' exercise is likely to significantly expand the ongoing cooperation, the officials said.