INS Jalashwa arrives at Antsiranana port, Madagascar with naval training team 

Indian Naval Ship Jalashwa reached the port of Antsiranana, Madagascar on Friday with an Indian naval training team on-board. 

The Indian naval training team will be deployed in Madagascar for capacity building and training of the Malagasy Special Forces for two weeks. 

"INS Jalashwa reaches the port of Antsiranana, Madagascar with a five-member @indiannavytraining team to help capacity building and training of the Malagasy Special Forces for two weeks," Indian ambassador Abhay Kumar wrote in a tweet. 

India and Madagascar share wide cooperation in defence sector. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Defence Cooperation was signed between India and Madagascar in March 2018 during the visit of the President to Madagascar and several bilateral cooperation projects in the area of defence are under discussions between the two countries. 

A four-member delegation led by Major General Leon Jean Richard Rakotonirina, Minister of National Defence, Republic of Madagascar visited India from February 3 to 5 to participate in the Aero India 2021 and IOR Defence Ministers Conclave at Bengaluru. 

INS Jalashwa will leave for Comoros to deliver 1,000 metric tonnes of rice and then, will head to the Port of Ehoala in Madagascar to deliver a consignment of 1,000 metric tonnes of rice and 100,000 tablets of HCQ to help Madagascar in dealing with the drought situation in South Madagascar. 

The supplies of food assistance and support for capacity building to Madagascar is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of SAGAR - Security and Growth for all in the Region and India's time-tested role as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region.  

(With inputs from agencies)