KOCHI: Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Sunil Lanba will inaugurate the 10th-anniversary commemorative activities of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in Kochi on Tuesday.
Lanba, who arrived at INS Garuda, the Naval Air Station, was received by Southern Naval Command Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Vice-Admiral A K Chawla.
The CNS will inaugurate the IONS seminar at the Lulu Bolgatty International Convention Centre at 9 am on Tuesday. Chiefs and senior representatives from the navies of the member nations will attend the function.
He will also flag off the “Tall Ships’ Sail Together” event on Wednesday.“IONS as a Catalyst for SAGAR” is the seminar’s theme. ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) is in consonance with India’s ‘Act East’ policy and the nation’s diplomatic, economic and military outreach in the region.
As many as 26 of the 32 member countries will participate in the seminar which aims to discuss maritime issues pertaining to cooperative capacity-building to deal with common security concerns in the region.
The IONS initiative endeavours to generate a flow of information among naval professionals so as to enable a common understanding of regional maritime issues and in turn facilitate generation of mutually beneficial maritime security outcomes.