French Navy Chief receives Guard of Honour

New Delhi: French Navy Chief Vice Admiral Christophe Prazuck, who began a three-day visit to India from January 06 to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Admiral Sunil Lanba, received the Guard of Honour here on Monday.

The French navy chief is in India to consolidate bilateral naval relations between the two countries, Indian Navy spokesperson Captain DK Sharma said ahead of the visit.

On Sunday, the French Navy Chief held bilateral discussions with Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and other senior officials of the Indian Navy, focusing on a range of issues of mutual interest to both navies, encompassing maritime operations, training, logistics and maintenance.

The Indian Navy, in return also promised cooperation with the French Navy on many fronts, including Bilateral Naval Exercise ‘Varuna’, Interaction on Aircraft Carrier Operations and in generating Maritime Domain Awareness through the medium of Security Dialogue and Staff Talks. In addition, ships from both navies make regular port calls at each others’ ports.

The French Navy Chief’s visit is taking place when the Indian Navy is looking forward to buying 57 multirole fighter planes for operations from the aircraft carrier.