India has commemorated the tenth anniversary of its SAGAR—Security and Growth for All in the Region—doctrine by upgrading it to the MAHASAGAR vision. During his visit to Mauritius in March 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled India’s MAHASAGAR vision, representing “Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.”
Within a month of its announcement, India is poised to launch its MAHASAGAR initiative in collaboration with the littoral countries of the Western Indian Ocean Region (WIOR). From 13 to 18 April, the Indian Navy, in partnership with the Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF), will conduct a six-day large-scale wargame titled “AIKEYME” (Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement).
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to kick off the inaugural exercise, which will involve the Indian Navy and ten African nations, highlighting the strategic importance of India’s Western Indian Ocean Region (WIOR) in the country’s foreign policy. The ten participating African nations are Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, and the co-host, Tanzania.
AIKEYME will be conducted in two phases: the harbour phase and the sea phase. The harbour phase will involve ‘table-top’ and ‘command-post’ exercises focused on piracy and information sharing, along with training in seamanship and Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) operations. In contrast, the sea phase will include seamanship evolutions, search and rescue operations, VBSS drills, small-arms firing, and helicopter operations.
Concurrent with AIKEYME, India is poised to launch another inaugural initiative called the Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar to strengthen cooperation with friendly countries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Under this initiative, the Indian naval ship INS Sunayna will be deployed to the southwest Indian Ocean, with a combined crew consisting of personnel from India and nine other nations: Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.
The deployment, scheduled to span over a month in April 2025, will include port calls at Dar es Salaam, Nacala, Port Louis, Port Victoria, and Male. During this period, the ship will also conduct joint surveillance operations in the exclusive economic zones of Tanzania, Mozambique, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
As a preparation for AIKEYME and IOS Sagar, naval officers from friendly countries, in addition to participating countries, will undergo a two-week training program at a naval professional school in Kochi. The training will include at-sea training. The selected personnel will engage in whole-ship activities, watchkeeping, and other exercises based on their national requirements. This training will also prepare them with the requisite skills for deployment aboard INS Sunayna. Additionally, the participants will observe the harbour phase activities of Exercise AIKEYME in Dar es Salaam.
Also read: Modi’s Mauritius visit is key to countering China. And safeguarding western Indian Ocean
India-Africa Maritime Security Cooperation
In his address to the Ugandan Parliament in July 2018, PM Modi outlined the ten guiding principles of India’s engagement with Africa and explained the significance of each principle. The eighth principle of India’s cooperation was security in the Indian Ocean.
In recent years, India has undertaken several joint operations with African navies, particularly in anti-piracy missions. In 2018, the Indian Navy participated in Exercise IBSAMAR-VI alongside the South African and Brazilian navies in South Africa. As part of this exercise, Indian ships were deployed to the Southern Indian Ocean Region, including Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion, Madagascar, and Comoros.
The Indian Navy also conducts the Milan Exercise biennially. In February 2024, India hosted the 12th edition of Milan in Visakhapatnam under the auspices of the Eastern Naval Command. The 2024 edition, the largest to date, saw the participation of navies from 53 countries, including 16 African nations: Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Togo.
The AIKEYME exercise aims to strengthen interoperability with African navies. For some time now, India and many African countries have been collaborating to address maritime security challenges, including piracy, trafficking, and unregulated or unreported fishing, through the sharing of information and surveillance. Fast and smooth communication is essential to achieving interoperability. Toward this goal, India launched the NISHAR communication terminal in 2024 to connect all friendly partner navies.
Finally, India has consistently been a first responder in Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) crises. The country’s humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, particularly the prompt response and professionalism demonstrated by the Indian Navy, have been widely acknowledged. Moreover, in February 2024, India inaugurated a new airstrip and jetty at Agalega Island in Mauritius, which would help India act quickly during any emergency in the region.
Situated at a critical geostrategic crossroads of the Indian Ocean, connecting the southeastern coast of Africa to the broader Indian Ocean and beyond, the Western Indian Ocean region has become a focal point of intense competition. This region has also brought to the fore some pressing challenges in the maritime domain, including attacks on merchant shipping, piracy, and hijacking attempts.
India aims to establish AIKEYME as a biennial event, with plans to broaden its scope in future editions to include West African nations. The exercise is expected to reinforce India’s position as the “preferred security partner” and “first responder” in the Indian Ocean region. The term “AIKEYME,” derived from Sanskrit, signifies unity. As AIKEYME is set to bring together Indian Ocean countries, it will also advance India’s vision of a “free and open” Indian Ocean Region.
Harsh V Pant is Vice President for Studies and Foreign Policy and Samir Bhattacharya is Associate Fellow, Africa, at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in New Delhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)