Article Posted on : - Apr 02, 2024

Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar greets Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy, Admiral Adoong Pan-Iam, in New Delhi on Monday. (Photo: PIB)

NEW DELHI (PTI): Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy, Admiral Adoong Pan-Iam, on Monday interacted with Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar in New Delhi, with discussions centred around issues of mutual cooperation in the maritime domain, training exchange programmes and information sharing.

The Thai Navy chief is on an official visit to India from April 1-3.

Visit of the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy to India is a "testimony of strong bilateral relations and lasting friendship between both navies," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Admiral Adoong Pan-Iam laid a ceremonial wreath at the National War Memorial in the national capital.

The visiting Admiral interacted with Admiral Kumar in Delhi. Discussions were centred around "issues of mutual cooperation in the maritime domain, training exchange programmes and information sharing," the statement said.

Earlier, Admiral Adoong Pan-Iam was welcomed with the customary Guard of Honour presented by the Indian Navy at the South Block.

The Admiral also called on Chief of the Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan.

He is also scheduled to meet the Chief of the Air Staff, Defence Secretary, and the National Maritime Security Coordinator, the statement said.

To further deepen defence cooperation between both the countries, Admiral Adoong Pan-Iam is scheduled to meet representatives of the Indian defence industries and the officials of the department of defence production in New Delhi, it added.

An interactive session with Indian Navy officials from the Warship Design Bureau is also planned to explore current trends in ship building and identify future opportunities, including scope of ship maintenance and repairs in India, the Defence Ministry said.

Both Navies have been conducting regular coordinated patrols on biannual basis since 2005, and the maiden IN-RTN bilateral exercise – Exercise Ayutthaya – was held last December.

More recently, the Royal Thai Navy ship HTMS Prachup Kheri Khan participated in Exercise MILAN 24 held in February in Visakhapatnam. Both navies are also active member of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), the Ministry said.