INS Sunayna Arrives at Mozambique’s Nacala Port: Strengthening India-Africa Maritime Cooperation

The Indian Navy’s warship INS Sunayna has docked at Nacala Port in Mozambique on Thursday, April 17, 2025, as part of its ongoing deployment under the Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) SAGAR mission. This port call represents a significant advancement in India’s maritime engagement with African nations and underscores India’s strategic commitment to fostering naval partnerships across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The vessel’s arrival in Mozambique follows its recent participation in the inaugural session of the India-Africa maritime partnership exercise AIKEYME 25 held in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

Mission Launch and International Participation

The IOS SAGAR mission commenced with an official ceremony at Karwar on April 5, 2025, where the Raksha Mantri (Defense Minister) flagged off INS Sunayna, marking the beginning of this important diplomatic and security initiative. What distinguishes this deployment is its multinational character, with INS Sunayna embarking 44 naval personnel from nine friendly foreign nations, including Comoros, Kenya, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and South Africa upon its departure from India.

This diverse participation reflects the mission’s objective of building collaborative frameworks for maritime security through shared experiences and joint training. By bringing together naval personnel from different countries aboard an Indian naval vessel, the mission creates an environment conducive to knowledge exchange, mutual learning, and strengthening professional relationships between maritime forces operating in the region.

Bilateral Engagements in Mozambique

During its port call at Nacala, INS Sunayna will undertake a series of meaningful engagements designed to enhance the relationship between the Indian and Mozambique navies. These activities include joint training exercises that will improve interoperability between the two naval forces and foster a deeper understanding of each other’s operational procedures and tactical approaches.

Beyond military exercises, the ship’s crew will participate in community interaction programs that serve to strengthen people-to-people connections and highlight the humanitarian dimension of naval diplomacy. These interactions reflect India’s comprehensive approach to maritime cooperation, which extends beyond strictly military considerations to encompass broader societal engagement.

Planned Joint Maritime Surveillance

The Ministry of Defence announced in its press release on Friday that upon completion of the port visit, INS Sunayna will embark personnel from the Mozambique Navy as Sea Riders for a joint surveillance mission. This collaborative effort will focus on patrolling Mozambique’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), demonstrating a shared commitment to maritime security and addressing non-traditional threats in regional waters.

This joint surveillance operation carries particular significance as it allows the Mozambique Navy to leverage the capabilities of the Indian warship while patrolling their sovereign maritime domain. The arrangement exemplifies how regional partnerships can enhance maritime domain awareness and security without compromising national sovereignty—a key principle of India’s maritime engagement strategy in the Indian Ocean.

AIKEYME 25: Expanding Maritime Partnerships

Before arriving in Mozambique, INS Sunayna participated in the first-ever AIKEYME 25 exercise in Tanzania. This newly established India-Africa maritime partnership exercise represents an important expansion of India’s naval cooperation frameworks with African nations. The name “AIKEYME” symbolizes the unity and collective approach to maritime security that underpins the initiative.

The exercise in Dar-es-Salaam provided valuable opportunities for participating navies to conduct joint drills, share best practices, and develop common understanding of maritime security challenges facing the eastern coast of Africa and the broader western Indian Ocean region. Such multinational exercises contribute significantly to building institutional relationships between naval forces that can be activated during actual maritime security operations or humanitarian assistance scenarios.

Strategic Context: The SAGAR Vision

The current deployment of INS Sunayna exemplifies India’s broader strategic vision encapsulated in the SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) initiative. First articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, SAGAR represents India’s comprehensive maritime strategy for the Indian Ocean Region, emphasizing cooperative approaches to addressing common challenges.

The IOS SAGAR mission operationalizes this vision by creating tangible mechanisms for maritime cooperation between India and African littoral states. The mission acknowledges the interconnected nature of maritime security challenges in the Indian Ocean and promotes collaborative solutions based on mutual respect and shared interests.

By focusing on capacity building, information sharing, and joint operations, the IOS SAGAR mission addresses a spectrum of maritime security challenges including piracy, illegal fishing, maritime terrorism, and environmental threats. The deployment of INS Sunayna demonstrates how naval assets can be effectively utilized as instruments of diplomatic engagement while simultaneously enhancing security cooperation.

Significance for India-Africa Relations

The port call of INS Sunayna at Nacala represents more than just a routine naval visit; it symbolizes the growing importance of Africa in India’s strategic calculus. As economic and political ties between India and African nations continue to expand, maritime cooperation has emerged as a crucial dimension of this evolving relationship.

For Mozambique specifically, the visit highlights the country’s strategic location along shipping routes connecting the Indian Ocean with southern Africa. The joint EEZ surveillance mission addresses Mozambique’s maritime security concerns while demonstrating India’s willingness to contribute to regional security frameworks.

More broadly, the mission reinforces India’s credentials as a responsible maritime power committed to upholding international norms and supporting the maritime security needs of smaller Indian Ocean states. This approach stands in contrast to more unilateral or coercive approaches to maritime engagement seen elsewhere in the region.