In the backdrop of massive inroads by China in Africa, the renewed threat of piracy and the continued threat from Houthi rebels to global shipping, the Indian Navy has announced initiatives to bolder cooperation with the continent and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). This includes a large-scale multinational exercise titled ‘Africa India Key Maritime Engagement’, also known as ‘AIKEYME’, scheduled to be held with 10 African countries.

Another cooperation initiative with Africa is the Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar under which offshore patrol vessel INS Sunayna is set to be deployed to the Southwest IOR from April 5 to May 8 with a combined Indian crew and 44 personnel from nine African countries.

“IOS Sagar, is an initiative towards continued cooperation with IOR nations. INS Sunayna is being deployed to the Southwest IOR with a combined crew of India and nine Friendly Foreign Countries (FFC) – Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka , South Africa. The ship is planned to be deployed for over a month in April 2025, and would be undertaking port calls at Dar-es-Salaam, Nacala, Port Louis, Port Victoria and Male and Joint surveillance of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of Tanzania, Mozambique, Mauritius and Seychelles,” Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti said, briefing the media.

With the announcement of Advancement for Security Across the Regions (MAHASAGAR) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Mauritius, the maiden initiatives of IOS Sagar and AIKEYME are aimed at consolidating Indian Navy’s stature as the ‘Preferred Security Partner’ and ‘First Responder’ in Indian Ocean Region, Vice Adm. Sobti said.

The personnel from FFCs would undergo a training capsule of two weeks at various naval professional schools at Kochi, including training at sea, and would be engaged in wholeship activities, watch keeping and other events related to their respective branches/trade, according to the Navy. The participants of IOS Sagar are also set to witness harbour phase activities of Exercise AIKEYME at Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

Over the past decade, the Indian Navy has been extensively collaborating with Indian Ocean littoral states on various initiatives such as joint naval exercises, coordinated patrols, information sharing, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts, capacity building and other diplomatic engagements.

The maiden edition of the India-Africa multilateral exercise ‘AIKEYME’, which means ‘Unity’ in Sanskrit, is being co-hosted by the Indian Navy and Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Force (TPDF) and will be conducted at/off Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. The exercise planned to be held over six days is scheduled to be inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in mid-April and includes participation from Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and South Africa in addition to the co-hosts.

The Harbour Phase of the exercise would include table-top and command post exercises on piracy and information sharing, along with training on Seamanship and visit board search and seizure (VBSS), the Navy said, adding that the Sea Phase comprises seamanship evolutions, Search and Rescue, VBSS, small arms firing and helicopter operations.