New chapter in India-Maldives defence ties

[FOX80]

The Indian Navy on Saturday handed over an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) built by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) to Maldives, marking a new chapter in defence ties between the two Indian Ocean neighbours.

Mohamed Nazim, defence minister of Maldives unveiled "aircraft frame marking" endorsing the formal hand over of the ALH.

Indian Navy personnel will continue to man the ALH, which will be used for search and rescue operations as well as for surveillance in the exclusive economic zone of Maldives.

Speaking on the occasion, Nazim said India had always stood with Maldives in times of need and especially in the areas of capacity building in the defence sector.

Training facilities are offered to the Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF) personnel in Indian Naval training establishments since 1988. MNDF personnel have been availing, on an average, 35 courses annually for the past few years.

Vice Admiral Satish Soni, Flag officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, who presided over the function, said that India considers Maldives a very important neighbour.

He said Maldives had been an outstanding contributor towards enhancing the surveillance and security in the Indian Ocean region. MNDF ships routinely contributed to anti- piracy patrols and this has contributed significantly to bringing down piracy threats.

Kochi; Indian Navy on Saturday handed over an advanced light helicopter (ALH) built by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) to Maldives, marking a new chapter in the defence ties between the two Indian Ocean neighbours.

Mohamed Nazim, defence minister of Maldives unveiled aircraft frame marking'' endorsing the formal hand over of the ALH.

Indian Navy personnel will continue to man the ALH which will be used for search and rescue operations as well as for surveillance operations in the exclusive economic zone of Maldives.

Speaking on the occasion, Nazim said that India had always stood with Maldives in times of need and especially in the areas of capacity building across the defence sector.

Training facilities are offered to the Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF) personnel in Indian Naval training establishments since 1988. MNDF personnel have been availing on an average, 35 courses every year for the past few years.

Vice Admiral Satish Soni, Flag officer commanding in chief Southern Naval Command who presided over the function said that India considers Maldives a very important neighbour .

He said Maldives had been an outstanding contributor towards enhancing the surveillance and security in the Indian Ocean region. MNDF ships routinely contributed to anti- piracy patrols and this has contributed significantly to bringing down piracy threats.