Port Blair, Jan. 27: MILAN, a biennial congregation of Navies at Port Blair featuring 14 countries will be held at Port Blair from 01 to 06 Feb 12. Naval Ships and delegations representing Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand will arrive at Port Blair on 01 Feb 12.

MILAN was first started in 1995 with four participating nations and has now grown with participation of 14 countries. The event provides the participating nations an excellent opportunity for interaction on operational, cultural and social fronts.

The event kicks off on 02 Feb 12 with Table Top Exercise ‘Camaraderie’, aimed at undertaking joint planning in dealing with present day scenarios like piracy, gun / drug running and threat from non state-actors. A key event on 03 Feb 12 is the maritime seminar. The main theme of the maritime seminar is ‘Capacity Building Through Maritime Cooperation’ with ‘Cooperation framework for capacity building for undertaking regional HADR operations’ and ‘Maritime cooperation for ensuring unfettered use of the Seas’ being the two sub themes. The speakers on the first sub theme are Vice Admiral (Retd) Pradeep Kaushiva and Ambassador Hemant Kumar Singh. The second sub theme is dealt by Lieutenant General (Retd) Prakash Menon and Mr. Euan Graham, of the RSIS, Singapore. His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, Andaman and Nicobar will deliver the inaugural address.

MILAN display at the Netaji stadium will be held on 04 Feb 12. This will include spellbinding shows by the Dog Squad, Dare Devils, Malkhamb, Band as well as Khukri, Bhangra and Lehzium dances. The show is open to the general public. The International City Parade on 05 Feb 12 will be a gala event. The parade will commence at the Netaji Stadium and pass through the Marina. His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor will take the salute during the parade. Riveting displays like SU-30 display, Air Warrior Drill, Sky Diving, formation fly past by aircraft, demonstration by Marine Commandos, Search and Rescue Operation and illumination will be showcased besides march past by contingents of all participating navies. Shows by visiting countries include ‘Lion dance’ by Singapore and Saman & Sajojo dances by Indonesia. MILAN will also provide a platform for interaction between the diverse cultures of the participating countries. The visiting ships will be open to the Islanders from 02-04 Feb 12 from 0930-1300 h.

Guests from 14 countries will be given a peek into the beauty and richness of the Emerald Islands of the Andaman. They will visit the various places of tourist interest like Havelock, Ross Island and places within Port Blair. The exposure of these islands to such a diverse audience will be a shot in the arm for Andaman Tourism.

The ships of the Andaman and Nicobar Command will also carry out exercises with the visiting Naval ships. These exercises would be the base for future joint HADR operations and exercises between the Navies.