Indian Naval Ships Call At Port Louis, Mauritius
Indian Naval ships Kolkata and Aditya, under the Command of the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, are in Mauritius since 1st September 2016, in a demonstration of India's commitment to its ties with Mauritius and to promote maritime security in the Indian Ocean region.
INS Kolkata is commanded by Captain Rahul Vilas Gokhale and INS Aditya is commanded by Captain Vidyanshu Srivastava.
The ships are part of the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet based at Mumbai under the Western Naval Command and are on a two month long deployment in the Western Indian Ocean.
The four-day visit of the two naval ships will contribute to further strengthen maritime security cooperation between the Indian Navy and the Mauritius National Coast Guard (NCG) with a view to ensuring a secure and stable regional maritime environment for unhindered economic development in the region.
India and Mauritius have very close and cordial political and diplomatic relations with a sizeable settlement of people of Indian origin settled in Mauritius. India and Mauritius have accorded centrality to each other in their respective foreign policies.