Russian Navy Chief visits India

Admiral Vladimir Korolev, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Federation Navy made an official visit to India from 15 to 18 March 2017, leading a four member Russian Navy delegation. The visit intended to “consolidate bilateral naval relations between India and Russia, as also to explore new avenues for naval cooperation.” The Russian Navy Chief held bilateral discussions with Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the Naval Staff and other senior officials of the Indian Navy and also met with the Minister of Defence, the Chief of the Air Staff, the Chief of the Army Staff and the Defence Secretary as part of his official engagements in New Delhi. Admiral Korolev also visited Mumbai, where he met with Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, FOC-in-C Western Naval Command, and visited the indigenously-built destroyer INS Mysore, the Naval Dockyard and Mazagon Dock Limited.

The Indian Navy cooperates with the Russian Navy in many areas, including operational interactions, training, hydrographic cooperation, information technology and personnel exchanges in various fields through the medium of Navy-to-Navy Staff Talks. In addition, the Indian Navy and the Russian Federation Navy have been conducting the bilateral maritime exercise Indra Navy since 2003. Eight editions have been held so far, the last being held off Visakhapatnam in December 2016.