NEW DELHI: The premier Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) held its maiden Maritime Exercise 2022 (IMEX-22) at Goa and in the Arabian Sea from March 26 to 30. The exercise witnessed participation of 16 of the 25 member nations of IONS.
The Indian Navy in a statement on Wednesday said, “IMEX 22 aimed to develop the IONS capability to efficiently and effectively coordinate amongst member nations the ability to address a HADR
contingency, coordinate the operations, build upon the individual strengths & develop interoperability in critical areas such as Search & Rescue operations, cross deck operations of helicopters, medical support, diving expertise and seamless communications.”
The participation included warships, maritime reconnaissance aircraft and helicopters from the navies of Bangladesh, France, India and Iran, said Indian Navy. IMEX – 22 was conducted in two phases with Harbour Phase at Mormugao Port, Goa followed by a Sea Phase in the Arabian Sea. French Navy Chief Pierre Vandier and Indian Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar witnessed the exercises during the sea phase and also attended the post-exercise debriefing.