India is a major player in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and the neighbouring countries rely on India to play its part in ensuring peace and prosperity in that region, said Madagascar Minister of Defence, General Richard Rakotonirina on Thursday.
He was speaking at the IOR Defence Minister’s Conclave on the sidelines of Aero India 2021, Asia’s largest Aero show held at Bengaluru.
At the Conclave, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that India was ready to supply various types of missile systems, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and other weapons systems including missiles, helicopters, tanks and artillery guns to friendly foreign countries in the IOR.
He also pointed out that India’s approach and vision to tackle the global challenge in IOR is highlighted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dynamic five ‘S’ vision – Samman (respect), Samvad (dialogue), Sahyog (cooperation), Shanti (peace), and Samriddhi (prosperity).
Singh also spoke about India’s assistance to neighbours during COVID-19 pandemic and said, “In recent COVID-19 pandemic times, op-SAGAR-1 saw us reaching out to our neighbours -Mauritius, Maldives, Madagascar, Seychelles and Comoros and assist them with medical teams, medicines such as HCQ, Remdesivir and paracetamol tablets as well as other medical supplies.”
He added that all IOR countries take economy, trade, naval cooperation and collaboration to the higher level in order to synergise their efforts to ensure safety and security in the region.