The United Kingdom and India completed two significant naval engagements last week involving three different Indian ports and two Royal Navy vessels – with a flurry of activity both on and off the ships.
The Royal Navy’s HMS Lancaster docked at Kochi following a three-day exercise with the Indian Navy for our annual bilateral maritime ‘Exercise Konkan.’ The port call included professional interactions on sharing best practices, sports fixtures and an Indo UK Dialogue on maritime security aboard the warship. INS Trishul and HMS Lancaster also participated in anti-air exercises, helicopter sorties, and anti-submarine manoeuvres.
At the same time, on India’s eastern coastline, the Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel HMS Tamar visited Vishakhapatnam – where the crew interacted with children and youth with disabilities, played cricket and basketball, planted saplings and painted the dormitories of the NGO’s Campus Challenge’. HMS Tamar’s 12-day visit to India also involved Industry and technology working groups and more sports (from football to kho-kho to yoga).
As part of a community outreach initiative in Chennai, the crew also helped paint walls at the Karunalaya street child charity.
The official Facebook page of the British High Commission, India, shared the update along with several glimpses.
India is the second largest foreign investor nation in the United Kingdom, and their ties go way back. While the UK ranks at 18th position as the trading partner of India and third after Mauritius and Singapore as an investor in India but there are several bilateral trade agreements between both countries designed to boost ties. India’s multifaceted bilateral relationship with the United Kingdom strengthened with its upgradation to a Strategic Partnership in 2004.
Both nations are continuously signing deals to benefit each other in several spheres of development and have been sharing good bilateral and trade relations for many years.
