By Victor Asije
The Chancery of the High Commission of India in Lagos, on Monday announced the scheduled arrival of an Indian Naval Warship, INS Tarkash, to Lagos by the end of this month.
The Head of the Chancery, Mr Jagdeep Kapoor, said in a statement that the visit of the warship would coincide with the celebration of the Nigerian Navy Day which would hold on June 1st.
“The Indian Naval Warship, INS Tarkash, is arriving on a scheduled goodwill visit to Lagos at the end of this month.
“The visit of the Indian warship coincides with the Nigerian Navy Day that is celebrated every year by the Nigerian Navy on 1st June,’’ he said.
According to him, the visiting ship, INS Tarkash, is a state of the art frigate commissioned into the Indian Navy on Nov. 9, 2012.
Kapoor said that the ship was packed with a high-density of weapons and sensors.
The Indian official also said that it was being manned by a crew of 300 personnel, adding that the ship was one of the most potent platforms of the Indian Navy.
Kapoor said that a joint exercise would be conducted between the Nigerian and Indian Navy ships at the end of the visit.
“The visit of the ship at this opportune moment reiterates the strong bond between both Navies in the larger context of growing bilateral defence cooperation between India and Nigeria.
“It also reflects the commitment of the Indian Navy to collaborate with the Nigerian Navy, in the face of growing global maritime security challenges,’’ he added.
