New Delhi. 18 August 2021. On the last day of the visit of Indian Navy to Bahrain, the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF), Rear Adm Ajay Kochhar called on the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), Vice Adm Charles B. Cooper II, at the headquarters of the U.S. 5th Fleet.

The NAVCENT acknowledged Indian Navy as a significant and prominent force in the Indian Ocean Region. He also showed keenness in aircraft carrier operations of the two navies with interaction at working level. While the FOCWF conveyed his appreciation for cooperative evolutions like fuelling as part of Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) , the NAVCENT expressed that Indian Navy forming a part of CMF will bolster their operations in the area.