4 Indian Navy warships on Africa, Indian Ocean Region deployment

NEW DELHI: Four Indian Navy warships, including destroyer INS Mumbai and frigates INS Talwar and Teg, are on a two-month overseas deployment to East Africa and South Indian Ocean Region to strengthen ties with the countries of that region.

"INS Mumbai, Talwar, Teg and Deepak under Western Fleet commander Rear Admiral R Hari Kumar are on a two-month long deployment. Three of these ships, INS Mumbai, INS Talwar and INS Deepak arrived in Mombasa, Kenya on October 15 to reinforce maritime security cooperation between the two countries," a Navy release said.

India and Kenya have historical maritime trading links and evidence of this interaction can be seen in the sizable Indian diaspora settled in Kenya.

The close knit relations between the two countries resulted in India being among the first few countries to establish a High Commission in Kenya following its Independence in 1963.

Bilateral relations between the two countries have since been progressively stepped up through economic, military and diplomatic cooperation.

The involvement of Indian Naval ships in combating piracy off the coast of Somalia since October 2008 has further strengthened bilateral ties and interaction with navies in the region.

India and Kenya are also members of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), a voluntary and co-operative initiative between 35 countries of the Indian Ocean Region, which has served as an ideal forum for sharing of information and cooperation on maritime issues.