Iranian destroyer ship arrives in SL

Tehran (FNA): The Iranian Navy commanders along with the crew of Iran’s Alvand destroyer docked in Sri Lanka to join the ceremonies held to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Sri Lankan Navy.

 The ceremony was attended by the commanders and military delegations of more than 26 world countries, during which a number of warships, including Iran’s Alvand destroyer, participated.  The Iranian Navy’s delegation also held meetings with a number of Sri Lankan military officials, and discussed ways to improve security in the Indian Ocean.

The two sides also exchanged views over a wide range of other issues, including the challenges facing maritime security, maritime rules, emergence of new threats, movement of the world’s economic pole to Asia, collective reaction to maritime problems and cooperation between the two countries’ Navies.

The Iranian Navy has recently boosted its extraterritorial missions. It has, thus far, dispatched 10 flotillas of warships to the Gulf of Aden after Somali pirates attacked several Iranian cargo ships.

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari in September stressed Iran’s continued naval deployment in the high seas, and said that the Iranian Navy’s presence in the high seas and international waters is part of Tehran’s strategy for defending its interests abroad.