During a reception ceremony held onboard, Shri Anurag Srivastava, High Commissioner of India to Mauritius, formally handed over the fair sheet of the hydrographic survey, along with newly prepared nautical charts and survey equipment to Mr. Dharambeer Gokhool, G.C.S.K. (Grand Commander of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean), the Hon’ble President of the Republic of Mauritius.
The creation of a new nautical chart will enable Mauritius to develop its maritime infrastructure, resource management, and coastal development planning. This milestone event reflects the enduring partnership between India and Mauritius in fostering maritime development and regional cooperation.
In addition to the operational commitment, the ship organized a joint India-Mauritius yoga session on 20 Jan 25, bringing together the ship’s crew, personnel from the National Coast Guard, Mauritius and Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture (IGCIC).
Capt. Tribhuvan Singh, Commanding Officer, INS Sarvekshak called on Mr. Shakeel Ahmed Yousuf Abdul Razack Mohamed, Minister of Housing and Lands, Mauritius and discussed the details of survey operations undertaken by the Indian Navy.
Mission Sagar
The extant visit reaffirms continued commitment and wide-ranging partnership between the two countries in line with the vision of ‘SAGAR’.
The core objective of the SAGAR vision is to have inclusive development joining economic assistance and maritime security concerns on a common platform, while respecting the international maritime laws and norms.
Mission Sagar, launched in 2020, is a mission working in tandem with Sagar doctrine policy. India launched this mission to provide relief aid to Indian Ocean countries following the pandemic of COVID 19. This initiative covers Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, and Seychelles.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to reaffirm India’s role as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region, and Mauritius is a key part of that effort.
India’s vision for the Indo-Pacific is based on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s idea of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) as we believe in fostering partnerships that prioritize sustainable development, economic growth and mutual security.”
The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces. It is responsible for protecting India’s interests at sea, including the country’s vast coastline and exclusive economic zone, as well as maintaining peace and stability in the region.
Indian Navy ships (INS) are designed and built to perform a wide range of tasks, including maritime patrol and surveillance, search and rescue, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
The Indian Navy operates a diverse fleet of ships, including aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines, and patrol vessels. These ships are equipped with a variety of weapons systems, sensors, and other advanced technology to support their missions.
The Indian Ocean has over forty littoral states bearing over 40 per cent of the world’s population. It is through the IOR that two-thirds of the world’s oil shipments; one-third of the world’s bulk cargo; and half of the world’s container traffic transit. Also 90 per cent of India’s trade by volume and 90 per cent of its energy imports transit through these waters. Peace and security in the Indian Ocean are thus critical for both economic prosperity and social stability of most nations in the world, including India.
Modi christened India’s vision for the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) as SAGAR which in the Indian language of Hindi means the ‘sea’ and when expanded, stands for – Security And Growth for All in the Region. According to this vision, India would do everything to safeguard its mainland and islands and defend its interests. Further, India will also work to ensure a safe, secure and stable IOR.
It is implied that these interests include the safety and security of Indian shipping, fishing, seaborne trade, energy supply, assets and resources in the maritime domain and Indian citizens who are working overseas. Given the seamless connectivity in the maritime domain, instabilities anywhere would impact on India’s maritime security too. As per SAGAR, India seeks to deepen economic and security cooperation with its maritime neighbors and assist in building their maritime security capabilities.
For this, India would cooperate on the exchange of information, coastal surveillance, building of infrastructure and strengthening their capabilities. Next, India believes that it is only through collective, collaborative and cooperative approaches that peace can be advanced in the region. In this context, an association like IONS (Indian Ocean Naval Symposium), an Indian initiative established in 2008 and which brings together 35 navies in the region; and the India-Sri Lanka-Maldives Trilateral established in 2013 are important.
Such mechanisms strengthen efforts to counter non-State actors engaged in piracy, terrorism and other crimes as also natural disasters. Further, India seeks an integrated approach and cooperative future, which will result in sustainable development for all in the region. India opines that the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) has an important role to play in this context.
SAGAR therefore is an inclusive vision with politico-economic-security cooperation and respect for international maritime laws as the key words.
Educationist/Administrator/Editor/Author/Speaker
Commencing teaching in his early twenties, Prof Aggarwal has diverse experience of great tenure in the top institutions not only as an educationist, administrator, editor, author but also promoting youth and its achievements through the nicest possible content framing. A revolutionary to the core, he is also keen to address the society around him for its betterment and growth on positive notes while imbibing the true team spirit the work force along with.
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