Indian Navy chief participates in Seapower Symposium in US

Indian Navy chief, Admiral R. Hari Kumar attended the 25th International Seapower Symposium (ISS) in the US, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

At the conference, the CNS spoke extensively about the challenges of Human Resource Management, with specific reference to recruitment and retention of trained personnel and India’s initiatives towards addressing these through the "Agnipath" scheme, empowering women and driving the Indian Navy into a gender-neutral force.

According to the ministry, the ISS is conducted by the US Navy at US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island and provides the opportunity to engage with the FFCs towards the shared vision of enhancing maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

The visit of the Chief of the Naval Staff to the US provided a significant opportunity for apex level navy to navy engagements for deepening bilateral cooperation as well as engaging with diverse partners across the Indo-Pacific, it said.

Admiral Hari Kumar also held bilateral engagements on the sidelines of the ISS with his counterparts from various navies including of the US, Australia, Egypt, Fiji, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the UK, a Defence Ministry official added.

The extensive engagements during the visit are a demonstration of the Indian Navy’s steadfastness towards realising the vision for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific and an international rules-based order, the official said.

During the Indian Navy chief's visit, extensive deliberations were also held towards exploring greater IN-USN operational engagements at bilateral and multilateral exercises such as the Malabar, RIMPAC, Sea Dragon and Tiger Triumph.

Regular subject matter expert exchange also takes place between both the navies to institutionalise interoperability in various fields, the ministry official added.