Overview

• The Indian Coast Guard and the United Arab Emirates National Guard Command formally signed a CCS-approved Maritime Security and Safety Cooperation MoU at the 13th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting in New Delhi on July 30.
• This pact marks the tenth defensive maritime agreement with friendly foreign coast guard agencies under India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) initiative.
• The MoU establishes joint capacity building and coordination across core functions including search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, pollution response and combating transnational maritime crimes.
• Director General Paramesh Sivamani and Commander Khalid Obaid Thani Al Shamsi signed the agreement in the presence of Lt Gen Ibrahim Nasser Al Alawi and India’s Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.
• Implementation plans for training exercises and operational coordination are now underway to bolster maritime safety and counter-smuggling operations in the Indian Ocean region.