Port Call by Indian Navy Vessel Marks 50 Years of Diplomacy

The Indian Navy vessel, INS Sudarshini, arriving at VivoCity this morning.

The Indian Navy (IN) sail training ship INS Sudarshini sailed into VivoCity for a port call this morning as part of a series of events to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and India. The ship will be in Singapore from 2 to 7 March 2015.

During the port call, Commanding Officer of INS Sudarshini Commander (CDR) T Raja Shakhar called on Commander Maritime Training and Doctrine Command Colonel (COL) Gerald Heng at Changi Naval Base (CNB). At CNB, CDR Shakhar visited the Full Mission Ship Handling Simulator and the Information Fusion Centre. Separately, about 18 officers from the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) will board INS Sudarshini for a day-sailing programme which will bring them on a round trip from VivoCity to Marina South Pier.

INS Sudarshini's port call to Singapore underscores the warm and long-standing defence ties between India and Singapore. Both navies also share strong relations, and have conducted annual bilateral exercises since 1994. The two defence establishments interact regularly through high-level visits, policy dialogues, joint military training, courses and other professional exchanges. Bilateral defence engagements have strengthened over the years since the signing of the Defence Cooperation Agreement in 2003, as well as the Air Force and Army Bilateral Agreements in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Following Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen's official visit to India in August last year, both defence establishments agreed to strengthen defence relations under the ambit of an enhanced defence partnership in 2015, which would allow both sides to explore new areas of cooperation for mutual benefit.

Commanding Officer of INS Sudarshini Commander (CDR) T Raja Shakhar (second from right) visiting the Full Mission Ship Handling Simulator at Changi Naval Base this afternoon.