India and Brazil have deepened their maritime partnership during the ongoing official visit of the Indian Navy chief, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, to Brazil, as the discussions between the two countries aimed at strengthening the growing naval cooperation, focused on operational engagements, training exchanges, hydrographic collaboration, information sharing, and avenues for enhancing maritime domain awareness, a statement from the Indian Navy said on Wednesday.
"The scope of expanding cooperation in areas of defence industry, technology development, innovation, exchange of best practices, and capacity building between the two navies was also deliberated," the statement added.
Besides, a landmark tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Navy, the Brazilian Navy, and India's state-run shipbuilder Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) to exchange information on the maintenance of Scorpene-class submarines & other naval vessels.
"The MoU will enhance life-cycle support, enable experience sharing in maintenance, logistics & training, and strengthen cooperation between government agencies & industry of both nations," the Navy spokesperson revealed.
The Indian Navy and the Brazilian Navy operate the Scorpene-class of submarines, built in collaboration with the French Naval Group (previously DCNS).
While India has six such underwater vessels in its naval arsenal, Brazil has four.