India and EU ships conducted on October 24 joint activities in the Gulf of Guinea, in an effort to reinforce naval maritime security cooperation in support of the region.
The exercise followed the third meeting of the EU-India Maritime Security Dialogue on 5 October in Brussels.
During the exercise, three ships operating under the EU Coordinated Maritime Presences (CMP) in the Gulf of Guinea, Foscari of the Italian navy, Ventôse of the French navy, and Tornado of the Spanish navy, joined the Indian naval ship Sumedha, an offshore patrol vessel of the Indian navy.
The four ships practiced a series of tactical manoeuvres in international waters off the coast of Ghana including with the helicopters embarked on the French and Indian ships.
This exercise was followed by a knowledge sharing session in Accra, which built on the joint experience at sea to improve operational know-how.
The session also helped deepen ties between Ghanaian officials and representatives of the Indian, EU and EU Member States missions to Ghana.
A joint press release was picked up broadly by the media, including the main Indian news outlets.
“These activities underlined the shared commitment of India and the EU to supporting coastal States and the Yaoundé Architecture in ensuring maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, and signalled the common determination to uphold the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” the European Union said in its website.
