Muscat: During the visits of Indian Navy Ships, INS Visakhapatnam and Trikand to Oman, sporting and cultural programmes are being conducted to further strengthen the ties between the two countries.
Several events, such as students visiting INS Visakhapatnam, musical band performances by Indian Navy and sporting and cultural programmes marked the interaction between the navies of India and Oman.
INS Visakhapatnam and INS Trikand were on a visit to Muscat and Duqm respectively. Their visit was aimed at enhancing cooperation, strengthening ties and sharing best practices undertaken with the Royal Navy of Oman on various elements of maritime operations.
"INSVisakhapatnam is at Muscat & INSTrikand visited Duqm as part of Western Fleet deployment. Professional interactions aimed at enhancing cooperation, strengthening ties & sharing of best practices were undertaken with Royal Navy of Oman.
As part of social interaction, Indian Navy Band spellbound the local populace with melodious and mesmerising tunes at Avenues Mall, Boshar. Sporting and cultural interactions were also conducted with Royal Navy of Oman personnel.
In addition, school children visited INS Visakhapatnam and were taken around the ship and given an overview of the capabilities of the indigenously designed and constructed warship.
A day before, Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar interacted with the crew of INS Trikand in Duqm, deployed for anti-piracy operations in the region, Indian Navy officials said.
Admiral R Hari Kumar was also shown the Port of Duqm and the various facilities available for ship berthing there.
“During his Oman visit, Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar visited Duqm where he addressed the crew of INS Trikand mission deployed for anti-piracy operations in the region. He was also shown the Port of Duqm and the various facilities available for ship berthing along with ship repair & maintenance facilities there,” the Indian Navy officials said.
The Indian Navy Chief was on a three-day visit to Oman — from July 31 to August 2 — with the aim of consolidating existing bilateral defence relations and high-level discussions with the military leadership of Oman.