The Indian Navy will next month hold an inaugural multinational naval exercise with ten African nations, including South Africa, off the coast of Tanzania as it strengthens ties with the continent.
The Indian Navy this week announced that the maiden edition of the Africa India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME) will be co-hosted with the Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Force (TPDF) off Dar-es-Salaam in mid-April. It will be inaugurated by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The exercise is planned to take place over six days and include participation from Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and South Africa in addition to the co-hosts.
The harbour phase of the exercise will include tabletop and command post exercises on piracy and information sharing, along with training on seamanship and visit board search and seizure (VBSS). The sea phase comprises seamanship evolutions, search and rescue, VBSS, small arms firing and helicopter operations, the Indian Navy said.
Giving background to the exercise, the Indian Navy said India and Africa give immense importance to maritime security “and have reiterated their commitment to increase cooperation in tackling maritime security threats such as piracy, illegal activities including trafficking, unregulated and unreported fishing through sharing of information and surveillance.” AIKEYME “is an initiative in this direction to enhance interoperability with the navies/maritime agencies.”
A further initiative will see crew from nine friendly foreign countries deploy aboard an Indian Navy vessel under the SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) programme.
“Over the past ten years, Indian Navy has deepened its partnerships with maritime agencies of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), to enhance maritime security in consonance with the Government of India’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region. The Indian Navy has been collaborating with navies of IOR countries on several initiatives such as joint naval exercises, coordinated patrols, information sharing, HADR (humanitarian aid and disaster relief) efforts, capacity building and other diplomatic engagements. With SAGAR entering its second decade, and the announcement of Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security Across the Regions (MAHASAGAR) by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, during his visit to Mauritius in March 2025, the Indian Navy is launching its maiden initiatives of IOS Sagar and AIKEYME, which are aimed at consolidating Indian Navy’s stature as the ‘Preferred Security Partner’ and ‘First Responder’ in Indian Ocean Region,” the Indian Navy said.
The Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar initiative aims to enhance cooperation with Indian Ocean Region nations and will see the Saryu-class patrol vessel INS Sunayna deployed to the Southwest Indian Ocean Region between 5 April and 8 May with a combined crew of Indian and 44 foreign crewmembers from Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.
The ship will undertake port calls at Dar-es-Salaam, Nacala, Port Louis, Port Victoria, and Male and carry out joint surveillance of the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of Tanzania, Mozambique, Mauritius and Seychelles.
The foreign crew will undergo two weeks of training at various naval professional schools at Kochi in India, including training at sea. Participants are also planned to witness harbour phase activities of Exercise AIKEYME in Dar-es-Salaam.
Tarun Sobti, India’s deputy chief of naval staff, said future editions of AIKEYME will see invitations extended to nations on Africa’s west coast.
This year’s inaugural exercise comes amid growing Chinese economic, military and political influence in Africa, a surge in piracy off the Horn of Africa, and the continued threat from Houthi rebels to global shipping.
Over the past decade, India has conducted numerous joint operations with African navies, as well as port visits. India has also strengthened bilateral security ties with Kenya, and for example supplied patrol boats to Mozambique. Last year it participated in Exercise Ibsamar VIII with Brazil and South Africa off the Cape coast.
Africa’s eastern coastal waters lie within India’s security perimeter, which led India to deepen its relations with Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania as well. India has established monitoring stations in northern Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles to track maritime activity and boost security in the western Indian Ocean, including the Gulf of Aden and the Mozambique Channel.
Information collected from India’s African listening posts is processed at its Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region and, from there, shared with more than 60 partner nations and international organizations. India has invited its African partners to post their own officers at the regional centre.
