In a significant step towards furthering India-Indonesia comprehensive bilateral relations, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and the Indonesia Coast Guard (Badan Keamanan Laut Republik Indonesia - BAKAMLA) renewed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Maritime Safety and Security Cooperation for a period of three years, defence ministry said here on Tuesday.
Giving details, officials said the MoU was signed between both the organisation in July 2020 which marked a significant milestone underscoring the vision of Indian government
towards a safer, secure and resilient Indo-pacific region.
Under the umbrella of the MoU provisions, eight member BAKAMLA delegation led by Vice Admiral Irvansyah, S.H, Chief of Indonesia Coast Guard is visiting India from January 24-28 which also included conduct of the second high level meeting between ICG and BAKAMLA on Monday, it said.
The high level meeting was led by Director General Paramesh Sivamani from the Indian Coast Guard side. The meeting focused on augmenting operational level interaction and capacity building in areas of Maritime Search and Rescue, Pollution Response and Maritime Law Enforcement. The meeting was significant in providing added impetus to the existing professional relationship between the two Coast Guards.
Relations between the two Coast Guards go back a long way ICG ships first visited Indonesia on December 2002 towards professional interaction and exchanges. This meeting and visit is in continuation of the efforts by the Governments of the two countries to enhance cooperation between the Coast Guards in the field of maritime safety and security.