India and 10 African countries will hold their inaugural joint naval exercise in the Indian Ocean in mid-April, marking a significant step in military cooperation aimed at boosting maritime security and countering China’s growing influence in the region.
The six-day drill, named the Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME), will be co-hosted by the Indian Navy and the Tanzania People’s Defense Force (TPDF), and is expected to become a biennial event.
The exercise will take place off the coast of Dar es Salaam and will involve naval forces from Tanzania, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, and South Africa. India’s Defense Minister, Rajnath Singh, is set to inaugurate the event.
The joint exercise will be divided into two phases: a harbor phase and a sea phase. The harbor phase will focus on tabletop discussions, command post exercises, and training in seamanship and boarding operations. The sea phase will include anti-piracy operations, search and rescue missions, helicopter drills, and small arms training.
In a related initiative, India will also launch the Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar mission, which involves the offshore patrol vessel INS Sunayna. From April 15 to May 8, the ship will be crewed by Indian sailors and 44 naval personnel from nine partner countries, conducting surveillance missions in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of participating nations. The ship will visit ports in Dar es Salaam, Nacala, Port Louis, Port Victoria, and Male.
TPDF spokesperson Col. Gaudentius Ilonda expressed pride in Tanzania’s role in the initiative, noting that the joint exercise highlights the country's commitment to regional security cooperation. "By hosting AIKEYME, Tanzania is cementing its role as a key player in Indian Ocean maritime security," he said.
The exercise aligns with India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine, which promotes regional cooperation to address shared threats such as piracy, terrorism, and illegal fishing.
India has ramped up defense diplomacy with African nations in recent years, focusing on capacity-building, joint training, and military technology sharing. The country has also established coastal surveillance radar stations in Seychelles, Mauritius, and the Maldives, further solidifying its strategy to secure critical maritime routes.
Experts view India’s growing naval cooperation with African nations as a response to the increasing geopolitical competition in the Indian Ocean, positioning India as a reliable security partner and enhancing its influence across Africa's maritime frontiers.
Iran's guards have said the important Strait is closed and anyone passing through will face "harsh measures". U.S. President ...
Two months after Indian negotiators worked in January to secure relie...
Iran’Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has rejected an offer of negotiations from the U.S. President, Donald Trump, amid the ong...
Former rapper turned politician Balendra Shah, was sworn in as Nepal’s prime minister on Friday, becoming the youngest leader in decades and ...
The United Arab Emirates has told the U.S. and other Western allies that it is willing to participate in a multinational maritime taskforce aimed a...
Two months after Indian negotiators worked in January to secure relief from punitive U.S. tariffs on the country’s exports and New Delhi moved to cut back its purchases of Russian crude oil, India and Russia are stepping up their energy ties once again, according to Reuters.
The real power of the Strait of Hormuz lies not in closing it, but in the threat of closure.
At least 10 people have died after a fire broke out at a hospital trauma unit in eastern India on Monday (16 March). The victims, who were all patients, were being moved to safer areas away from the blaze when they died, officials said.
Two Indian-flagged tankers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, carrying 92,700 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), are en route to India despite disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz caused by the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, the Indian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday (14 March).
Israel said it had killed Alireza Tangsiri, the Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)’s Navy, on Thursday, as confict in the Middle East continued.
Iran has rejected a U.S. proposal to end the war, insisting any ceasefire will occur only on its own terms and timeline, according to a senior political-security official speaking to state-run Press TV on Wednesday.
Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Rally (RN), said on Wednesday that the U.S. had “clearly made a mistake” in launching strikes on Iran, arguing Washington misjudged the resilience of the Iranian regime.
Russia’s Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, major export terminals, suspended loadings of crude oil and refined products on Wednesday after large-scale Ukrainian drone attacks triggered a blaze, sources told Reuters.
Northern European countries must significantly boost military drone production to help Ukraine defeat Russia, Latvia’s Prime Minister has said, warning that victory would be “impossible” without greater support.
Two months after Indian negotiators worked in January to secure relief from punitive U.S. tariffs on the country’s exports and New Delhi moved to cut back its purchases of Russian crude oil, India and Russia are stepping up their energy ties once again, according to Reuters.
U.S. paper currency will bear President Donald Trump's signature starting this summer, the first time a sitting president has signed American money, the Treasury Department said on Thursday. The change comes as the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary.
Mexico's navy said it had activated a search-and-rescue operation in the Caribbean to locate two sailboats carrying humanitarian aid to Cuba after the vessels failed to arrive in Havana.
A powerful tropical cyclone in Western Australia has disrupted production at the country’s two biggest liquefied natural gas plants run by Chevron and Woodside, exacerbating a global supply crunch caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
France has rejected claims that South Africa was dropped from the guest list for this year’s G7 summit under pressure from United States, insisting the decision to invite Kenya was its own.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment