On November 2, 2020, Indian Naval Ship (INS) Airavat entered Port Sudan with 100 Tonnes of Food aid as part of Mission Sagar-II. Under Mission ‘SAGAR’ Indian government is providing assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries to overcome natural calamities and COVID-19 pandemic.
The mission is being done in close coordination with the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs and other agencies of Indian Government.
Mission Sagar-II:
i.Under Mission Sagar-II, INS Airavat will deliver food aid to Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea amid COVID-19 pandemic.
ii.Mission Sagar-II is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR-Security and Growth for All in the Region’
Note: – Mission Sagar-I was undertaken in May-June 2020, INS Kesari provided Food and Medicines to Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros.
INS Airavat:
i.INS Airavat is the third Shardul-class amphibious warfare vessel of Indian Navy.
ii.It was commissioned at the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam on 19th May 2009.
iii.It was built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata
Mission Sagar:
i.Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) was launched in 2015, it is India’s Strategic vision for the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
ii.Through SAGAR, India seeks to deepen Economic and Security cooperation with maritime neighbours and assist in building maritime security capabilities.
Recent Related News:
i.On May 10, 2020, the government of India (GOI) has initiated a “Mission Sagar” as a part of their efforts to send medical aid to five Island nations in the Indian Ocean amid COVID-19 pandemic.
About Ministry of Defence:
Union Minister– Rajnath Singh
Minister of State (MoS)– Shripad Yesso Naik
About Ministry of External Affairs:
Union Minister– Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
Minister of State (MoS)– Vellamvelly Muraleedharan
