Indian Navy postpones multilateral naval exercise Milan in Vizag amid coronavirus scare

The much-awaited multilateral naval exercise Milan 2020, which was originally scheduled to be conducted by the Indian Navy in Vizag from 18 to 20 March , has been postponed amid the outbreak of coronavirus.

As per an official note, “Milan 2020 has been postponed taking into consideration the safety of all participants and travel restrictions imposed by the spread of COVID-19. The conduct of Milan 2020 had generated a very enthusiastic response, with Navies around the world having expressed their desire to participate; and in deference to this interest, the Indian Navy looks forward toward scheduling MILAN at a later convenient date.” The Indian Navy further thanked the navies that had accepted their invitation to participate in the mega event in Vizag.

Milan 2020 came as yet another prestigious event for Vizag, which had successfully hosted the International Fleet Review (IFR) in 2016. The event was deemed as a multilateral naval exercise to enhance professional interaction between friendly foreign navies and learn from each other’s strengths and best practices in the maritime domain. The Exercise, with the theme ‘Synergy Across the Seas’, was conceptualised to provide an excellent opportunity for Operational Commanders of friendly foreign navies to interact with each other in areas of mutual interest. However, given the recent outbreak of coronavirus, the event has been postponed for now.

The rapidly spreading coronavirus has claimed over 3000 lives across the globe so far. As per the latest reports, 14 Italian tourists in India have tested positive for coronavirus to take the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 18 so far.