Riyadh: In the first such cooperation between the two countries, cadets from the Royal Saudi Naval Forces have arrived in India to participate in a three-week training session with their Indian Navy counterparts.
The Saudi delegation consists of 55 trainees and 5 teaching personnel from the King Fahd Naval Academy. According to a statement made on Thursday by the Southern Naval Command, they arrived this week at a naval base in Kochi, Kerala state, on India's southwest coast.
According to a series of tweets from the command, the 24-day exercise between the Indian Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Forces was "a major step towards mutual cooperation."
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"The trainees were given a warm welcome upon arrival," it stated. The cadets will be stationed on board the sail training ship INS Sudarshini to give them first-hand experience with sail ships.
The cadets from the King Abdulaziz Naval Base in Jubail, which is home to the main naval academy for the Kingdom, arrived on board the INS Tir and INS Sujata of their host nation's First Training Squadron.
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Newly commissioned naval officers receive their initial training onboard ships from the Indian Navy's First Training Squadron.
The Saudi training programme is seen as a sign of the two countries' expanding defence ties.
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"The first-ever training course for Saudi sailors at an Indian naval base shows the Saudi security establishment's growing confidence in establishing contacts with Indian forces. According to defence expert Ranjit Kumar, this programme will result in more of these engagements in the future.
"This is a sign of deeper strategic ties between Saudi Arabia and India.