Male, The joint military exercise between the Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka, 'Dosti', symbolises the age-old friendship between the three countries, Maldivian Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi has said.
Mariya made the statement at a ceremony held to inaugurate the 15th edition of the biennial exercise.
Exercise 'Dosti' was initiated in 1991, and the Maldives and Indian Coast Guard have collaborated on conducting the exercise since then. Sri Lanka joined the exercise for the first time in 2012.
While this year marks the 30th year since the conception of the exercise, Minister Mariya said the exercise being carried out over the years without fail attests to the importance the three countries give to ensuring the safety of the surrounding seas.
She said that reinforcing regional efforts to ensure the safety of the Indian Ocean and regional security is among the top policies of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, avas.mv reported.
The India-Maldives-Sri Lanka Tri-Lateral Exercise ‘DOSTI’ aims to further fortify the friendship, enhance the mutual operational capability, and exercise interoperability and build cooperation between the Coast Guards of Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka.
Exercises carried out over the past 10 years focused on exercises and drills on assisting in sea accidents, the responsibility on the Coast Guard on eliminating sea pollution, and the Coast Guard's procedure and conduct during situations such as oil spills.
India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives began their five-day joint biennial military exercise,’ Dosti' from Saturday.
The Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) said Indian Coast Guard vessels, ICGS Vajra, ICGS Apoorva and, Sri Lanka Coast Guard, SLCGS Suraksha, arrived in the Maldives for the exercise.
The exercise, which commenced on November 20, will continue till November 24. This year marks 30 years since the initiation of the exercise.