⇒ The maiden edition of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Maritime Exercise 2022 (IMEX-22) was conducted at Goa and in Arabian Sea from 26 March to 30 March 2022.
Aim:
The aim of the exercise was to enhance interoperability in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations among member navies.
IMEX–22 comprised two phases:
- Harbour Phase at Marmugao port, Goa from 26 to 27 March 2022.
- Sea Phase in the Arabian Sea from 28 to 30 March 2022.
Participants:
The exercise witnessed participation of 15 out of the 25 member nations of IONS.
Observer Countries:
22 Observers from 15 IONS member navies, namely Australia, Bangladesh, France, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UAE and UK also participated in the exercise.
» The participation included warships, Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft and helicopters from the Navies of Bangladesh, France, India and Iran.
» The participants validated the IONS HADR guidelines and developed response mechanisms for providing HADR from sea to shore as well as for rendering assistance to ships and crafts in distress at sea.
About IONS:
- The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) has been established in 2007.
- IONS is a premier forum for cooperation and collaboration among navies of littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region.
- The forum has enabled discussions on regional maritime issues, promoted friendly relationships, and significantly improved maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region.