In April 2025, India co-hosted the inaugural Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME) exercise with Tanzania off the coast of Dar es Salaam. This six-day multilateral naval exercise aimed to enhance interoperability among participating navies and address shared maritime threats
Harbour Phase: Included table-top and command-post exercises focusing on anti-piracy operations, information sharing, seamanship training, and Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) simulations.
Sea Phase: Featured drills such as search and rescue operations, VBSS, small arms training, and helicopter operations.
AIKEYME aligns with India’s broader maritime strategy under the MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision, emphasizing collaborative security and growth in the Indian Ocean Region.
Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar Initiative
Parallel to AIKEYME, India launched the Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar initiative, deploying the offshore patrol vessel INS Sunayna from April 15 to May 8, 2025. This mission featured a multinational crew comprising personnel from nine partner countries: Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.
