German Defence Minister visits Western Naval Command, Mazagon Dock in Mumbai

Mumbai: A delegation from Germany led by its Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visited the Western Naval Command (WNC) and the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) here with an aim to strengthen defence ties between the two countries, the Navy said on Thursday.

Pistorius visited the WNC on Wednesday, during which he interacted with top Indian Navy officials, including Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the WNC.

The minister was accompanied by Benedikt Zimmer (State Secretary, Ministry of Defence Germany), Dr Jasper Wieck (Director-General for Security and Defence Policy, MoD Germany), Dr Philipp Ackermann (German Ambassador to India) and other delegation members.

The German delegation later visited the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, where they were apprised of the indigenous ship building capability of the MDL.

During the visit to Mumbai, Pistorius was given a tour of the latest indigenous warship, INS Mormugao.

Consequent to India and Germany signing an agreement on Bilateral Defence Cooperation in 2006, there has been a significant enhancement in military interactions. Cooperation in the maritime domain is the most enduring and key facet of engagement between India and Germany, which inter alia encompasses training and reciprocal bilateral visits by naval ships and delegations, the navy said.

Navies of both countries share converging views on maritime areas of concern, anti-piracy, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The current visit of Pistorius would further strengthen the relationship between the two countries, the navy statement added.