Iran Navy head attends Indian Ocean naval symposium in South Africa

The commander of Iran’s Navy has arrived in South Africa to take part in the Third Indian Ocean Naval Symposium. Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari arrived in Johannesburg on Sunday where he is to stay for a whole day before heading for the main venue of the symposium, Mehr News Agency reported. “Regional Maritime Security Initiatives Aimed at Reducing Modern Maritime Security Threats” has been chosen as the motto of the Third Indian Ocean Naval Symposium. The four-day symposium will open at the Cape Town International Convention Center on April 10 and will be attended by navy commanders from 33 littoral states of the Indian Ocean who will discuss the most important security and military issues related to the Ocean. Iran's Navy has increased its presence in international waters since last year, deploying vessels in the Indian Ocean and sending two ships via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean for the first time in February 2011. In addition, in line with international efforts to combat piracy and protect the security of naval routes, the Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard vessels involved in maritime trade, especially the ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran. Attacks by heavily armed Somali pirates on speedboats have prompted some of the world's largest shipping firms to switch routes from the Suez Canal and reroute cargo vessels around southern Africa, leading to climbing shipping costs. Last May, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos described the anti-piracy efforts by Iran's Navy as “effective.” The Islamic Republic has repeatedly asserted that its overseas naval presence is meant to convey the message of peace and friendship to other countries.