Indian Navy ships INS Sahyadri and INS Kolkata, deployed in the Eastern Indian Ocean, reached Port Moresby on 2 August 2023 to strengthen maritime partnership and cooperation with South East Asian country Papua New Guinea.
During the port call, the crew of both the ships were involved in a wide range of activities including professional interaction with Papua New Guinea (PNG) Defense Forces personnel, cultural exchange, yoga sessions and ship visits.
The objective of this port call is to strengthen the relations between India and Papua New Guinea in the maritime domain.
INS Sahyadri is the third ship of the indigenously designed and built Project-17 class multirole stealth frigates.
INS Kolkata is the first ship of the indigenously designed and built Project-15A class destroyer.
Both the ships have been built at Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai and are fitted with modern weapons and sensors capable of countering three dimensional threats.
In May 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the island nation after attending the G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023. This country is very important from a strategic point of view for India.
It is an independent island nation in the Pacific Ocean near Indonesia, a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean region.
Capital: Port Moresby
Currency: Kina