NEW DELHI: Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kesari on Saturday reached Port of Maputo, Mozambique with 500 tonnes of food aid as part of the Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) Mission.
"500 tonnes of food aid has been shipped by INS Kesari to support the efforts of Government of Mozambique to cope with the ongoing drought and concurrent challenges of the pandemic," read the Ministry of Defence press release.
"India also remains committed to supporting the capacity building efforts of the Armed Forces of Mozambique. To this end Kesari is carrying two Fast Interceptor Craft and self-defence equipment to be handed over to the Armed Forces of Mozambique," added the release.
This is the eighth such deployment in consonance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of SAGAR and is being conducted in close coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, and other agencies of the Government of India.
These deployments were conducted in solidarity with India's extended maritime neighbourhood and highlighted the importance accorded by India to these special relationships, added the release.
INS Kesari had undertaken a similar mission in May - June 2020 to provide humanitarian and medical assistance to Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros, including deployment of Medical Assistance Teams of the Indian Navy in multiple locations, read the release.
Since May 2020, the Indian Navy has deployed ships to 15 friendly foreign countries under SAGAR missions. These deployments spanned over 215 days at sea have delivered cumulative assistance of more than 3,000 MT of food aid, over 300 MT LMO, 900 Oxygen Concentrators and 20 ISO containers.
"Whilst undertaking, these missions Indian Naval Ships have traversed a cumulative distance of close to 40,000 nm which is nearly twice the circumference of the earth. With a steadfast intent of making such high quantum of humanitarian assistance reach its destination in time, personnel from ships and shore organisations of Indian Navy have invested close to a million man-hours to deliver succour to our friends overseas," added Defence Ministry release.