ANKARA

India, France and the United Arab Emirates have concluded the first-ever trilateral maritime exercise this week, the Indian Defense Ministry said on Friday.

The trilateral cooperation “achieved another milestone in history” as the exercise, which was held on June 7-8, concluded, the ministry said.

During the maiden edition of the exercise, “a wide spectrum of operations at sea such as surface warfare involving tactical firing …drills for replenishment at sea were undertaken by the participating units,” said the statement.

“The exercise also saw cross embarkation of personnel that facilitated exchange of best practices,” it added.

The drill has further “strengthened the maritime ties between the navies and enhanced interoperability to address traditional and non-traditional threats in the maritime environment thus ensuring safety of mercantile trade and freedom of navigation at high seas in the region,” the statement read.

Earlier, the Indian Navy said maiden India, France, and the UAE maritime exercise started in the Gulf of Oman.

Indian naval ship Tarkash and French vessel Surcouf, both with integral helicopters, French Rafale aircraft, and the UAE navy maritime patrol aircraft participated in the exercise.