INDIA WILL CONDUCT JOINT NAVAL EXERCISE 'AIKEYME' WITH 10 AFRICAN NATIONS
NEWS Desk Global
India will now for the first time conduct a major naval exercise called `Aikeyme’ with 10 African countries, as part of the continuing military outreach to the continent where China has made major strategic inroads, even as it keeps a close watch on the threats posed by Somali pirates and Houthi rebels in the region.
The Navy will next month also launch another maiden initiative called `Indian Ocean ship (IOS) Sagar’, under which a combined crew of Indian sailors and 44 personnel from nine friendly foreign countries will man offshore patrol vessel INS Sunayna during her deployment to the south-west Indian Ocean Region (IOR) from April m5 to May 8.