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Riyadh: Saudi and Indian officials, as well as members of the local Indian community, gave a warm welcome to INS Tamal and Surat as the Indian naval ships arrived in Jeddah for a port call on Wednesday.

INS Tamal, a multi-role frigate, and INS Surat, a guided missile destroyer, berthed at the Jeddah Islamic Port from Aug. 27-28 as part of regular naval exchanges between India and Saudi Arabia, the Indian Embassy said on Thursday.

INS Tamal has recently been commissioned in Russia and is on its way to India. It is also the last warship to be imported by the Indian Navy.

Indian ambassador Dr. Suhel Ajaz Khan told Arab News: “I am delighted to welcome the two Indian naval ships to the historic port city of Jeddah. Their visit is a testament to the deepening of bilateral defense ties in recent years. Particularly, Saudi Arabia being one of India’s largest maritime neighbors, our cooperation in the military domain has made steady progress, with a range of joint activities and exchanges between our navies.

“As strategic partners, our two countries are committed to further expand military to military cooperation,” he said.

During the state visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Jeddah in April 2025, a new ministerial committee on defense cooperation was created to consolidate and strengthen the defense partnership, the ambassador said. 

“In fact, just today we had a very important meeting under this committee held in New Delhi, called the JCDC, where concerned DGs in our defense ministries reviewed various aspects of our defense partnership,” Khan told Arab News.

The program during the port call featured a range of official engagements, including interaction with the Western Fleet, Royal Saudi Naval Forces leadership and director general, Saudi Border Guards, Makkah region, familiarization of operations and procedures at the Jeddah Maritime Rescue Coordination Center, and a football match with Royal Saudi Naval Forces, culminating in a passage exercise on departure.

The Indian ambassador hosted a dinner reception for Saudi guests and the local diaspora on board INS Tamal on Thursday evening.

India and Saudi Arabia share comprehensive defense relations, in which naval cooperation is an important component.

The navies of India and Saudi Arabia have previously held joint maritime exercises — Al-Mohed Al-Hindi in 2021 and 2023.

Earlier this year, the first round of navy-to-navy staff talks were also conducted. Exchange of naval officers and cadets for training and capacity-building takes place regularly.

Recently, a delegation of Royal Saudi Naval Forces visited IFC-IOR (Information Fusion Center — Indian Ocean Region) in Gurugram, India, for a study tour.