The Indian Navy warship, INS Sumedha, covered 22,000 nautical miles and engaged with 12 countries amid the South Asian sovereign state's outreach initiative in Africa, India's blue water force said on Monday.
As part of the Indian Navy's cooperation with maritime forces of African nations, INS Sumedha touched down on ports in Namibia, Mauritius, Madagascar, Nigeria, Egypt, Senegal, Mozambique, Ghana, Angola, Algeria, Djibouti and Kenya.
"Echoing the voice of the Global South, the ship participated in maritime exercises & anti-piracy patrols, undertook EEZ surveillance & fostered people-to-people connect," the Indian Navy noted.
Of late, New Delhi has focused on having close relations with African nations to emerge as a major arms and ammunition player in the region.
For example, multiple African countries, including Egypt have shown interest in India's homegrown fighter LCA Tejas as well as the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv manufactured by the country's aviation major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
In addition to that, India's Pinaka rockets and Akash missiles have also generated quite a buzz in Africa's weapons market.