VISIT OF CNS TO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

Admiral R. Hari Kumar, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Indian Navy visited Australia from September 26-28, 2022. During the visit, he held meetings with Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, Chief of Navy, Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Vice Admiral David Johnston, Vice Chief of Australian Defence Forces, Greg Moriarty, Secretary of Defence, Air Marshal Robert Chipman, Chief of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Air Vice Marshal Mike Kitcher, Deputy Chief of Joint Operations. During these meetings, the leaders expressed their commitment to pursue collaborative activities in several areas of bilateral convergence. The discussions also highlighted the need for raising the level of synergy and focused efforts for overcoming the challenges of the maritime environment. The visit of the CNS further consolidated the strong and long-standing bilateral relations between two countries.

Admiral R. Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), then visited New Zealand from September 29, 2022 to October 1, 2022. The CNS held detailed deliberations with Rear Admiral David Proctor, Chief of Navy, RNZN. The discussions covered a wide spectrum of maritime cooperation opportunities. Both leaders exhibited enthusiasm towards expanding the scale and scope of bilateral engagements in the coming years. In a milestone development, an Agreement on White Shipping Information Exchange, was signed during this visit. Closer collaboration towards enhancing shared Maritime Domain Awareness is in keeping with convergent views of both countries with regard to promoting greater transparency in the maritime domain. The visit to New Zealand further consolidated shared commitments of both navies and has set in motion a promising growth trajectory for deeper bilateral maritime engagements.