In a key development, on August 16, Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza Bin Mohd Sany, Chief of the Royal Malaysian Navy arrived in the country on a three-day official visit, at the invitation of the chief of the naval staff, Indian Navy Admiral R Hari Kumar.
The official meeting commenced with a wreath-laying ceremony at the National War Memorial, where the Chief of Navy of the Malaysian Navy paid homage to the Indian bravehearts. He was accorded a guard of honour on the South Block lawns prior to the commencement of official engagements.
Admiral Mohd Reza called on the Indian Navy chief of naval staff and discussed the progress of ongoing bilateral engagements in the maritime domain. He was also briefed on the broad range of foreign cooperation activities pursued by the Indian Navy. The leaders identified several avenues for further strengthening naval cooperation.
They tabled their commitment to support upholding the principle of collective responsibility for maritime security in the Indian Ocean region.
During this visit between August 16 and 19, Admiral Reza is slated to interact with several higher functionaries of the Government of India, ranging from GoI officials from the MEA and NSCS. The Malaysian Admiral is slated to interact with a broad range of Indian Defence Industry representatives facilitated by iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence).
Admiral Reza is an alumnus of INS Dronacharya's premier Gunnery Training Establishment of the Indian Navy, at Kochi, from where he graduated as a Gunnery Specialist back in 1990. Admiral Reza will visit his alma mater during the second leg of his visit to Kochi.
Bilateral cooperation between the Indian and Royal Malaysian Navies spans a wide canvas ranging from training to operations. Both navies have recently concluded the bilateral exercise Samudra Laksamana on May 22 and the Navy to Navy Staff Talks on June 22.
The Malaysian naval ship KD Lekiu and a high-level delegation had earlier participated in MILAN hosted by the Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam on February 22. The official visit of the Malaysian Chief of Navy signifies yet another growing collaboration between the two defence forces and their commitment to sustaining the positive trajectory of bilateral relations.