Member of Parliament requests Defence Minister to Conduct MILAN Event in A&N Islands Once in Six Years

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Pot Blair, June 3: The Member of Parliament, A&N Islands, Shri. Kuldeep Rai Sharma has requested the Defence Minister of India to conduct the MILAN event of the Indian Navy in Andaman & Nicobar Islands once in six years.

In a letter addressed to the Defence Minister the Member of Parliament mentioned that the MILAN exercise, a biennial multilateral naval exercise was initiated by the Indian Navy in 1995 in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Since its inception, the exercise has served as an exceptional platform for participating navies of different countries to come together in a spirit of collaboration and mutual understanding. It has played a significant role in nurturing strong ties between nations. Furthermore, MILAN has been instrumental in highlighting the principal maritime interests of India, which primarily revolve around ensuring and safeguarding national security.

He said that the Andaman & Nicobar Islands served as the host venue for the MILAN exercise until the year 2018. During this period, the event not only provided an excellent opportunity for participating navies to interact with each other but also put the Andaman & Nicobar Islands on the international map. The increased visibility helped promote tourism in the region and the city parade, skydiving, and other MILAN events became immensely popular among both tourists and local residents.

“Other than this MILAN exercise also used to provide some business opportunities for local residents involved in Catering, Local Hotels, Light and Sound, Car Hiring etc.,” the MP said.

The Member of Parliament further mentioned that it was a matter of immense pride for all Islanders to see our Islands hosting the prestigious MILAN exercise every two years. However, since 2018, the event has been shifted to Visakhapatnam.

“While I understand the reasoning behind this decision, given that the event originated in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Islanders would love to see the event being organised once again at Port Blair,” he said.

He added that Andaman & Nicobar Islands has India’s only Tri-Service Command which is well equipped to organise such International Events in a highly professional manner.