AIKEYME: Strengthening India-Africa Maritime Alliances

The Indian Navy will conduct a major maritime wargame, AIKEYME, with multiple African nations to bolster defense cooperation in April. This follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's MAHASAGAR vision for enhancing engagement with the Global South. Participating countries include Tanzania, Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, and others.

The Indian Navy is set to host a large-scale wargame, 'AIKEYME', with several African nations, aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new strategy for engaging the Global South. This initiative is geared towards enhancing overall maritime defense cooperation with African countries.

Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti, announced that the Indian Navy, alongside the Tanzania Peoples Defence Force, will co-host this maritime exercise off Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, in mid-April. In attendance will be India's Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, who will inaugurate the event.

The maritime exercise aims to address threats like piracy and illegal trafficking through shared information and surveillance. It features participation from countries such as Comoros, Djibouti, and Kenya, among others. Additionally, a new initiative, Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar, will deploy the Indian naval ship, INS Sunayna, to bolster cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region.

(With inputs from agencies.)