New Delhi, Sep 27: Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, who is on an official visit to Greece, met VAdm Dimitrios E Kataras, Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff on Friday.

An official said that during this maiden visit by an Indian Navy CNS to Greece. “Both the Chiefs held discussions on strengthening navy to navy partnership by augmenting operational interactions, maritime security cooperation and streamlining shared goals for a stable and secure maritime environment,” the official added.

He said that the discussions focussed on the criticality of open sea trade routes, laying the groundwork for advancing Indo-Greek defence collaboration with a focus on strategic naval opportunities, capacity building, shared training initiatives, and enhancing interoperability. Collaboration in niche technologies and defence industry opportunities were also deliberated.

“Avenues of furthering training cooperation were also explored along with laying emphasis towards enhancing interoperability and capacity-building, during this meet,” officials added. He said that the CNS also met Ioannis Kefalogiannis, Deputy Minister of Defence, Greece and VAdm Christos Sasiakos, Deputy Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, marking a significant step in deepening defence ties and fostering a robust strategic partnership towards enhancing maritime security in the Mediterranean and the IOR.

“On arrival in Greece, Adm Tripathi was received by the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff with a ceremonial Guard of Honour at the Papagos Camp, Athens. Admiral Tripathi, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), is on a for-day official visit to Greece from 26 to 29 September.

This visit is part of ongoing efforts to further consolidate bilateral defence relations between India and Greece, with a focus on enhancing the Naval Corporation,” he said. The official added that the discussions are expected to cover a broad spectrum of defence cooperation areas, particularly maritime security, joint training initiatives, and exploring avenues for future operational collaboration between the two navies.

IANS