Article Posted on : - Apr 12, 2010

US Navy chief Admiral Gary Roughead

NEW DELHI (PTI): US Navy chief Admiral Gary Roughead arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit to explore ways to bolster naval cooperation between the two countries.

During his stay in New Delhi, Admiral Roughead will have discussions with Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma and call on Defence Minister A K Anthony, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal P V Naik, Army Chief General V K Singh and Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar.

Admiral Roughead, Chief of the naval operations of the US Navy, will also visit various naval ships and establishments in Mumbai and Goa and some training establishments in Kochi.

Since 1995, cooperation between the two navies has been growing steadily. An official statement said a consistent engagement has led to both navies recognizing and respecting each other's competencies with mutual trust and confidence.

Besides exploring ways to enhance the navy-to-navy interaction, areas of common interest will be discussed, it said.

Even as the two Chiefs meet, the next edition of the MALABAR series of exercises is scheduled from April 23 to May 2 and four capital warships and one submarine and a few aircraft from each side are scheduled to participate.