New Delhi: As a part of efforts to strengthen bilateral ties, the Indian Naval Ship INS Sunayna visited Mombasa in Kenya from June 20 to 23 and celebrated International Yoga Day on board.
As part of the Yoga Day celebrations, the Indian Navy also formed an ‘Ocean Ring of Yoga’, which involved port calls to friendly nations in the Indian Ocean region.
On arrival, the ship was received by representatives from the High Commission of India. The Commanding Officer called upon Brigadier Y S Abdi, Deputy Commander of Kenya Navy and highlighted the significance of Yoga towards bringing the world together.
On the occasion of International Day of Yoga on June 21, a joint Yoga session was conducted onboard with the participation of Indian Navy personnel and Kenyan Defence Forces.
A maritime partnership exercise was conducted between the two navies.
The crew of both the Indian and Kenya Navy conducted drills in firefighting & damage control, boarding exercises, asymmetric threat simulations and visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) during the harbour phase.
A humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) capsule was also conducted onboard for the Kenya Navy.
A reception in the honour of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Kenyan Defence Forces General Francis Ogolla was hosted onboard Sunayna by Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) Vice Admiral Sanjay Mahindru. The event was attended by the High Commissioner of India in Nairobi Namgya Khampa.
During his address, the CDF conveyed his gratitude towards the friendly gesture by the Indian Navy in training the Kenya Navy personnel and expressed his commitment towards continuous cooperation between both countries.
The DCNS gifted 200 life jackets to the Commander of the Kenya Navy Maj Gen Jimson Muthai.
“In line with the Indian Navy’s social outreach activities and community wellbeing, provisions were distributed to an orphanage at Mombasa,” the Defence Ministry said.
On departure from Mombasa, INS Sunayna undertook a passage exercise (PASSEX) with Kenya Naval Ship Jasiri on 23 Jun 23. The visit to Mombasa reaffirms the strong and longstanding relationship between India and Kenya and will further consolidate bilateral cooperation in the maritime domain, the defence ministry added.