# Kenya and India extends naval ties after frigate visit to Mombasa

- Link: https://www.military.africa/2026/10/kenya-and-india-extends-naval-ties-after-frigate-visit-to-mombasa/
- Published: 2026-10-14T08:10:57+01:00
- Author: Military Africa

An Indian Navy delegation led by Commodore Kartik Srimal paid a courtesy call on
Commander Kenya Navy, Major General Paul Otieno, at Kenya Navy Headquarters on 5
October 2026, days after an Indian frigate concluded a four-day stop in Mombasa.

The visit followed the arrival of INS Tarkash, a Talwar-class guided-missile frigate,
which docked in Mombasa from 29 September to 2 October for what the Indian Navy 
called an operational turnaround, a routine stop for crew rest, resupply and maintenance
between deployments. During the port call, Indian and Kenyan sailors held professional
exchanges and joint activities meant to sharpen coordination between the two navies.

Commodore Srimal’s delegation included India’s Defence Attache to Kenya, Captain
Arjit Pandey, and other officials. The sides reviewed shared maritime interests 
and looked at ways to widen cooperation between the Kenya Navy and the Indian Navy,
according to a statement from Kenya’s Ministry of Defence.

Major General Otieno said sustained professional interaction helps strengthen bilateral
defence ties and improves partner navies’ ability to respond to threats in the maritime
domain. He added that the engagements open room for knowledge exchange, professional
development and sharing of operational experience, while building institutional 
links between the two forces.

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.military.africa/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Kenya-and-India-
extends-naval-ties-after-frigate-visit-to-Mombasa-3-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C533&
ssl=1)

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.military.africa/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Kenya-and-India-
extends-naval-ties-after-frigate-visit-to-Mombasa-2-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C533&
ssl=1)

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.military.africa/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Kenya-and-India-
extends-naval-ties-after-frigate-visit-to-Mombasa-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C533&ssl
=1)

An Indian delegation led by Commodore Kartik Srimal paid a courtesy call on the 
Commander Kenya Navy, Maj Gen Paul Otieno, at the Kenya Navy Headquarters with the
engagement providing an opportunity to review areas of mutual interest.

INS Tarkash is one of six Talwar-class frigates built around a modified Krivak III
design from Russia, displacing roughly 4,000 tonnes fully loaded and carrying BrahMos
supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, a surface-to-air missile system and a medium-
range naval gun. The class has a top speed near 30 knots and can operate for about
30 days without resupply, which suits the kind of long-endurance patrol and escort
work India has leaned on it for in the Western Indian Ocean. Tarkash itself has 
recent operational credentials; it took part in an anti-piracy interception off 
the Horn of Africa in March 2024.

ADVERTISEMENT

The courtesy call and frigate visit are the latest in a run of naval engagements
that has picked up pace since late 2023. INS Sumedha, a Saryu-class patrol vessel,
made the f[irst-ever visit by an Indian warship to Kenya’s port of Lamu](https://www.military.africa/2023/12/indian-navy-warship-makes-historic-visit-to-kenyas-port-of-lamu/)
on 9 December 2023, the same month Presidents William Ruto and Narendra Modi issued
a joint maritime vision known as BAHARI. That same year, Goa Shipyard Limited and
Kenya Shipyards Limited signed a memorandum of understanding on ship design, construction
and wider defence industrial cooperation, part of Kenya’s push to build a shipbuilding
and repair base on the East African coast.

ADVERTISEMENT

The cooperation has since broadened beyond port calls. In April 2025, India [hosted ](https://www.military.africa/2025/04/indias-largest-ever-joint-naval-exercises-in-africa-begins/)
the first [Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement exercise off Tanzania, ](https://www.military.africa/2024/07/sailing-together-india-and-africas-mutual-journey-towards-security-growth/)
bringing in nine African navies including Kenya’s. Major General Otieno travelled
to India in September 2025 for high-level talks, and the fourth Joint Defence Cooperation
Committee session between the two countries met in Nairobi from 24 to 26 February
2026. In April 2026, the frigate[ INS Trikand called at Mombasa](https://www.military.africa/2026/04/indian-navy-frigate-ins-trikand-arrives-kenya-to-bolster-defence-ties/)
for a four-day visit, and Indian officials handed over 100 INSAS rifles and 50,000
rounds of ammunition to the Kenya Defence Forces on 8 April that year.

For Kenya, the relationship offers access to training support, simulators and shipyard
expertise as the navy works to expand its long courses and reposition itself as 
what officials have called a maritime centre of excellence. For India, the steady
cadence of port calls, exercises and committee meetings forms part of a broader 
push, branded MAHASAGAR, to deepen naval diplomacy with Indian Ocean littoral states
and maintain an operational presence along trade routes that run past the Horn of
Africa. Analysts tracking India’s Africa posture have also linked the push to concerns
in New Delhi about China’s growing footprint on the continent, a dynamic not stated
in Kenyan or Indian official statements but widely discussed in regional security
literature.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Indian Ocean carries a large share of the world’s seaborne trade, and both Nairobi
and New Delhi have framed naval cooperation there as a shared interest rather than
a response to any single threat. Kenya’s statement on the latest courtesy call cast
it as part of continued naval diplomacy aimed at building institutional capacity
and contributing to peace and stability across the region.

### _Related_