Iran’s naval chief meets with military delegations in Tehran

TEHRAN, Apr. 24(MNA) – Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi held bilateral meetings with senior participants at the 6th Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in Tehran on Monday. Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi met with the heads of senior military delegations attending at the 6th Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in Tehran on Monday. During these bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the IONS, Khanzadi met with the navy commanders of Indian Ocean littoral states like the chief of Bangladeshi navy, the deputy commander of Turkish navy, the commander of southern squadron of Russian navy, the head of Chinese military delegation, and the head of Japanese military delegation. The two sides in all these meetings vowed to expand bilateral relations and cooperation. Also the commander of the South African navy and the commander of the Sri Lankan navy met with Mr. Khanzadi in two separate bilateral meetings. The ways to increase security in the water ways of the Indian Ocean were discussed in these meetings, too. The 6th Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) kicked off in Tehran on Monday with participation of 35 high-ranking military delegations from across the world. The two-day event is gathering 35 high-ranking military delegations from across the world, including India, Turkey, and Australia. According to Khanzadi, Iran will take over the presidency of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) for a two-year term. As the largest military symposium in Iran’s history, IONS is composed of 23 permanent members including Iran, and several other countries with observer status such as France, South Africa and Singapore. The previous rounds of the biennial event were held in India, the UAE, South Africa, Australia and Bangladesh. The IONS as voluntary initiative aims to increase maritime cooperation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region.