VISAKHAPATNAM: After the successful conduct of the Presidential Fleet Review on February 21, the city of destiny is gearing up for the 11th edition of multilateral exercise MILAN, which will be held from February 25 to March 4. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the MILAN. Visakhapatnam is hosting the MILAN for the first time.
The naval exercise started in 1995 at Andaman and Nicobar Islands. As many as 45 countries have been invited to participate in the event. Of them, about 40 have confirmed their participation. The naval exercise will be held in two phases. The harbour phase will be conducted from February 25 to 28, while the sea phase will be held from March 1 to 4. T
here will be a two-day maritime summit as part of the harbour phase. The city parade will be held on February 27, for which Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will be the chief guest.
The crew of foreign vessels and delegates will also participate in the city parade. The parade will be organised like a carnival as there will be performances by local cultural troupes reflecting the tradition and culture of the region.
Over one lakh people are likely to throng the Beach Road to witness the event. Elaborate arrangements have been made along the beach to ensure hassle-free conduct of the parade. About 40 large LED screens were being set up to live stream the parade.