Canada's defence minister visits Western Naval Command

Mumbai: Canada’s Minister for National Defence Harjit Singh Sajjan visited the Western Naval Command headquarters here today.

Sajjan interacted with Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command, a Defence spokesperson said.

“The minister highlighted areas of congruence between India and Canada and the need to further enhance cooperation between both nations. The discussions looked at continuing the current level of military interactions and the possibilities of increased cooperation,” he said.

The current Regional and Global Security environment and the opportunities it afforded both India and Canada to work together formed part of the talks, the spokesperson said in a statement.
Enhancement of maritime and naval cooperation and visit of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Winnipeg were also discussed.

HMCS Winnipeg will visit India in mid May 2017 and will carry out professional interaction and Passage Exercise with Indian ships, the spokesperson said.

“The minister also visited the Indian Navy’s indigenous guided missile destroyer, INS Kochi. He was taken on a conducted tour of the ship and expressed his deep appreciation of the strides being made by India in their indigenisation efforts,” he said.

“India and Canada are poised to enhance defence cooperation in fields of counter terrorism, cold climate warfare, peace keeping and Naval cooperation,” the spokesperson said.