Royal Navy of Oman ships arrive in Goa to participate in bilateral exercise

Royal Navy of Oman ships RNOV Al Rasikh and RNOV Khassab arrived at Mormugao Port in Goa on Saturday to participate in the 12th edition of the Indo-Oman Bilateral Naval exercise 'Naseem-Al- Bahr'.

Indian Navy Ships INS Beas and INS Subhadra will be participating in the exercise.

Harbour Phase in Goa followed by Sea Phase of Ex Naseem-Al-Bahr off Goa.

During the Harbour Phase, the Commanding Officers of the visiting ships will call on Flag Officer Commanding Goa Naval Area. The ships will conduct Subject Matter Expert Exchanges on professional topics, the Navy said in a release.

The Harbour Phase also includes sports activities between the Indian Navy and the RNO personnel, reciprocal receptions and planning conferences for the Sea Phase of the exercise.

With the first Indian Navy-Royal Navy of Oman exercise was conducted in 1993. The exercise is aimed at deriving mutual benefit from the experiences of both the navies.

Bilateral relation between Indian and Oman were formally established with the signing of a 1953 Indo-Oman Treaty of friendship, Navigation and Commerce, a first between India and an Arab country. Naval exercises have contributed to the strengthening of bilateral ties between India and the Sultanate of Oman.

The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation in December 2005 and the subsequent establishment of the Joint Military Cooperation in March 2006 has set the foundation for increased defence cooperation.

Since then, naval cooperation between the countries has progressed steadily with increased port visits by naval ships and training of RNO personnel by the Indian Navy in hydrography, diving, training management, logistics management and dockyard management.

( With inputs from ANI )