April 1, 2025
The six-day exercise includes participation from eight African nations alongside India and Tanzania, marking a significant step in maritime cooperation
Activities during the Harbour Phase will focus on piracy response, information sharing, seamanship, and VBSS training exercises
The Sea Phase will include search and rescue operations, small arms firing, helicopter drills, and maritime interdiction simulations
The Indian Navy has been strengthening regional maritime partnerships under the SAGAR vision and is expanding this effort through new initiatives like AIKEYME and IOS Sagar
The Indian Navy is set to participate in a major multilateral maritime exercise with African nations under the newly launched initiative, ‘Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement’ (AIKEYME), a term derived from Sanskrit meaning ‘Unity’. The objective is to deepen interoperability among participating navies and maritime agencies across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
The inaugural edition of AIKEYME will be co-hosted by the Indian Navy and the Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to inaugurate the event in mid-April 2025.
Eight African nations—Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, and Seychelles—along with South Africa, will join India and Tanzania in this six-day engagement aimed at boosting regional maritime security.
The Harbour Phase will feature Tabletop and Command Post exercises designed around piracy response and information exchange. Seamanship training and Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) operations are also scheduled.
During the Sea Phase, participating navies will carry out seamanship evolutions, search and rescue (SAR) drills, VBSS exercises, small arms firing, and helicopter operations, according to Navy officials.
The Indian Navy has reaffirmed the importance of strengthening maritime security partnerships in the IOR, particularly to combat non-traditional threats such as piracy, illegal trafficking, and unregulated fishing. The exercise aligns with India’s decade-old SAGAR vision—Security and Growth for All in the Region.
Over the years, India has advanced regional collaboration through joint naval exercises, coordinated patrols, information sharing mechanisms, humanitarian missions, capacity building, and strategic engagements with IOR nations.
Building on this momentum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his March 2025 visit to Mauritius, announced the MAHASAGAR initiative—Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security Across the Region. The AIKEYME and IOS Sagar initiatives fall under this framework, reinforcing India’s role as a ‘Preferred Security Partner’ and First Responder in the region.
The IOS Sagar initiative will see the deployment of INS Sunayna to the southwestern Indian Ocean in April 2025. The ship will carry a mixed crew comprising personnel from India and nine Friendly Foreign Countries (FFCs): Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.
The ship will make port calls in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Nacala (Mozambique), Port Louis (Mauritius), Port Victoria (Seychelles), and Malé (Maldives). During this deployment, joint surveillance of the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of Tanzania, Mozambique, Mauritius, and Seychelles will be conducted.
Further, personnel from participating nations will undergo a two-week training programme at naval schools in Kochi, featuring both classroom and at-sea instruction. These officers will engage in whole-ship tasks, operational drills, and watch-keeping duties aligned with their specialisations.
Participants of the IOS Sagar deployment are also expected to witness the Harbour Phase of AIKEYME in Dar es Salaam, further reinforcing cooperation and shared learning among Indian Ocean nations.
Source: DD News