Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Harry O’ Farrell, visited the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) at Visakhapatnam on Monday. The High Commissioner along with his delegation interacted with Vice Admiral B. Dasgupta, Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, as part of his visit to the State.
The High Commissioner highlighted areas of congruence between India and Australia and the need to further enhance cooperation between both the nations. Enhancement of maritime and naval cooperation to further boost the defence ties was also discussed. The deliberations included the current regional and global security environment.
The High Commissioner also visited the Indian Navy’s indigenous stealth frigate INS Shivalik where he interacted with Rear Admiral Tarun Sobti, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet. The delegation was shown the capabilities of the ship. The High Commissioner expressed his appreciation of the strides being made by India in their indigenisation efforts. He later visited the Damage Control Simulator at INS Vishwakrama.
India and Australia are poised to enhance defence cooperation in maritime, air and land warfare through regular bilateral and multilateral exercises between the defence forces. The navies of India and Australia exercised together on April, 2019, during AUSINDEX, a biennial naval exercise. Australian Navy also participated in latest edition of Malabar exercises in Nov 2020 after an interval of 13 years signifying the strong relationship between QUAD members.
