Indian naval ships dock at Abu Dhabi port

DUBAI: Two Indian Naval warships, on a rare Gulf tour aimed at fostering maritime goodwill with the Arab nations, docked at a port in United Arab Emirates.

'INS Rajput' and 'INS Betwa' docked at the Mina Zayed port in Abu Dhabi on Monday in presence of the newly appointed Indian Ambassador to the UAE Talmiz Ahmad.

"I am very delighted with the visit of the two Indian naval ships. They are part of historic maritime linkages that we have with the Gulf for centuries. We want to exchange ideas with the personnel of the UAE Navy about the development, technology, its strategy and tactics," Ahmad said.

"The UAE Government welcomes our visit and we exchange ideas to benefit from each other. We hear them very carefully, we benefit from their inputs, that is why our cooperation and friendship is progressing all the time," the ambassador said.

'INS Rajput' is commanded by Captain A K Jain and 'INS Betwa' by Captain Sanjay Bhutani.

The ships will stay in the country until August 30.  

'INS Rajput' would head for Djibouti and 'INS Betwa' for Oman after the "joint passage exercise" with the UAE naval forces on August 30.

"Our relations with the UAE are progressing, not only in the defence sector but in other areas too. Basically, we have come here to reaffirm our relationship. In fact, lots of cooperation is going on between the UAE and Indian government in the field of maritime," Captain Jain of 'INS Rajput' said.

"The naval chiefs of both countries have exchanged ideas in the recent past and it is a healthy sign of progress," he said.

'INS Rajput' is the first Kashin II class guided missile destroyer. The guided missile frigate, 'INS Betwa', is a modern warship with capabilities to carry out maritime operations.