Mumbai. The Indian and French Navies concluded the first part of their periodic exercise Varuna off the Goa coast May 1-10, the Naval Headquarters has announced.
The second and final part of the Exercise would be conducted May-end off Djibouti, where the French have a military facility. This is the 17th edition of the Joint Exercise between the two Navies.
The French Navy’s aircraft carrier FNS Charles de Gaulle, two destroyers, FNS Forbin and FNS Provence, frigate FNS Latouche-Treville, FNS Marne and a nuclear submarine took part. From the Indian side, aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, destroyer INS Mumbai, Teg-class frigate INS Tarkash, Shishumar- class submarine INS Shankul, and Fleet tanker Deepak took part.
The first part covered the Harbour phase including cross-visits, professional interactions and discussions and sports events.
The second would be the Sea phase comprising operational exercises across the maritime spectrum.
India and France initiated the bilateral naval exercise in 1983 and christened it as ‘Varuna’ in 2001 as part of the growing bilateral strategic partnership.
Having grown in scope and complexity over the years, this exercise exemplifies the strong relations between the two nations, in line with the Joint Strategic Vision of India-French Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region signed by President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the former’s State visit to India in March 2018.
The Varuna exercise aims at developing interoperability between the two Navies and fostering mutual cooperation by learning from each other’s best practices to conduct joint operations. The exercise underscores the shared interests and commitment of both nations in promoting maritime security.
