Shri Rajnath Singh, Hon'ble Raksha Mantri, presided over the opening ceremony of 12th edition of MILAN 2024 on 21 Feb 2024 at Visakhapatnam. Admiral R Hari Kumar CNS along with Senior Officers from Indian Navy and a distinguished gathering of Ministers, Ambassadors, Chiefs of Navies and representatives of Maritime Forces from 50 FFC witnessed the grand ceremony. MILAN24 has also witnessed vibrant participants in action on the sports fields of ENC on 21 Feb 2024. Personnel from Indian Navy and FFC actively participated in a variety of exhilarating games. Subsequently, two more major events MILAN Village and MILAN Tech Expo were inaugurated by Hon'ble RM on 21 Feb 2024. This edition of MILAN is the largest and more complex than previous editions, with the participation of Indian ships and many foreign warships, one Maritime Patrol Aircraft and delegations from FFC. The exercise commenced on 19 Feb 2024 and will culminate on 27 Feb 2024 post the sea phase. ‘MILAN’ means 'a meeting of confluence' in Hindi and its motto - Camaraderie Cohesion Collaboration symbolises the enduring spirit of International Maritime Cooperation. The exercise brings together like-minded nations that train and operate jointly, towards establishing the regional synergy needed to achieve the shared objective of peace and prosperity, aligned with Hon'ble PM’s vision of SAGAR (Security Growth for All in the Region). MILAN 2024 reflects India's growing engagement with like-minded nations, portraying India as VishwaMitra – a universal friend, that is a friend of everybody for the global good. In addition INSVikrant made a grand debut at the scenic port of Visakhapatnam for MILAN 2024. The same is viewed as a Grihapravesh to her eventual homeport.
