Mumbai: US Congressional Staffers delegation visits Western Naval Command

An 11-member United States Congressional Staffers delegation visited the Western Naval Command here and interacted with senior Indian Navy officers, including Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the WNC.

During the visit on Thursday, the delegation was given a presentation on roles, responsibilities and activities of Western Naval Command, including a tour of the latest indigenous stealth guided missile destroyer INS Mormugao, a defence release said.

It said the delegation also visited Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd., wherein they were apprised of the premier facility’s indigenous ship building capability.

Naval cooperation between the two nations has grown substantially over a wide canvas that includes annual exercise MALABAR, multilateral exercise RIMPAC, Special Forces exercise SANGAM, Tri-Service Amphibious HADR exercise TIGER TRIUMPH, International Maritime Exercise (IMX) as well high level delegation visits, Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) and goodwill visits by naval ships.

India and the US are also party to the Maritime Security Dialogue, which is conducted annually, it said. Both navies are committed towards ensuring maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region wherein cooperation in the maritime domain is the most enduring and key facet of the engagement, the statement said.