INS Delhi departs Sri Lanka, concludes two-day visit to the port city

INS Delhi departed Colombo, Sri Lanka on Sunday after a two-day visit to the port city. During their stay in the harbour, several interactions were held between the crew of the ship and the Sri Lankan navy personnel. This was mentioned in an official press release by the Ministry of Defence.

INS Delhi is the lead ship of her class of guided missile destroyers. It was built at Mazagaon Dock Limited in Mumbai. It was commissioned on 15th November 1997 and this class is among the largest warships to be designed and built in India. In 2009, this ship led the Indian Navy task force to deployment in Europe, and during this deployment, the task force participated with the Royal and French Navy in Exercise Konkan-9 with the Royal Navy off the coast of the UK and Exercise Varuna -09 with the french navy off the coast of France.
 

About the two-day visit of INS Delhi to Sri Lanka

The visit of INS Delhi to Sri Lanka aimed at strengthening bilateral ties between both countries. The crew interacted closely with the Sri Lankan navy personnel, both through professional engagements to enhance interoperability and by creating environment and health awareness through a beach clean-up drive and yoga session. The ship was also visited by schoolchildren and other local visitors.

The Indian navy spokesperson took to X and said that IND Delhi departed Colombo on 03 Sep 23 after a two-day visit. Cross-training and a joint beach clean-up drive were also held with the Sri Lankan Navy personnel. State-of-the-art Arogya Maitri cube was presented to the Honourable Speaker of the Sri Lankan parliament during the reception on board.

The ship also conducted a familiarisation tour on board for over 200 NCC cadets and 500 other local visitors. The commanding officer of INS Delhi interacted with Rear Admiral Suresh De Silva and the commander Western Naval area and paid homage at the IPKF memorial by wreath laying wreath in honour of the Indian Soldiers who laid their lives in Sri Lanka during IPKF operations from 1987-1991. The high commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Sri Gopal Baglay presented the state-of-the-art Arogya Maitri cube to the Honourable Sri Lankan parliament speaker during a reception hosted onboard INS Delhi.

This was done as part of India’s ‘Arogya Maitri initiative’ to provide essential medical supplies to friendly countries. The statement mentioned that these medical cubes have been indigenously developed under Project BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative For Sahyog Hita and Maitri). Along with the speaker, the reception was also attended by several senior government officials including the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation, the Attorney General, the secretary of defence and all three service chiefs furthermore, the visit ended with a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) between INS Delhi and SLN Ship, the statement in the ned mentioned that the visit concluded with a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) at sea of Colombo between INS Delhi and SLN ship Vijayabahu.