'Committed To Combating Terrorism, Piracy': PM Modi Replies To Bulgarian President's Praise For Indian Navy

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev expressed his gratitude for the Indian Navy after they successfully carried out a rescue operation on the hijacked cargo ship, MV Ruen, in the Arabian Sea on Friday.

Among the 17 rescued crew members, seven were Bulgarian nationals.

The Bulgarian President took to his official X account and said, “My sincere gratitude to PM @narendramodi for the brave action of Indian Navy rescuing the hijacked Bulgarian ship “Ruen” and its crew, including 7 Bulgarian citizens.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to Rumen Radev’s post on social media site X and said he appreciated his message. PM Modi said India remains committed to combating piracy and terrorism in the Indian Ocean region.

“Appreciate your message, President of Bulgaria. We are happy that 7 Bulgarian nationals are safe and will be returning home soon. India is committed to protecting freedom of navigation and combating piracy and terrorism in the Indian Ocean region,” PM Modi said.

On Sunday, Mariya Garbriel, who is the Foreign Affairs Minister of Bulgaria, took to X and also expressed gratitude to the Indian navy for the successful rescue operation. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also responded to his Bulgarian counterpart’s expression of gratitude on the social media platform.

Responding to her post, EAM Jaishankar said, “That’s what friends are for.”

Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata successfully coerced all 35 Somali pirates, who had hijacked a vessel in the Arabian Sea to surrender, and ensured the safe evacuation of 17 crew members on Saturday.

Earlier on Sunday, the Indian Navy intercepted the hijacked cargo ship MV Ruen and told the Somali pirates on board to surrender, a spokesperson from the Indian Navy said. The special forces of the Indian Navy, Marine Commando Force aka MARCOS, had boarded the vessel, navy officials said.

An Indian Navy statement read, “INS Kolkata had carried out the interception of the Pirate Ship Ruen almost 1,400 nm (2,600km) from the Indian Coast and forced the pirate ship to stop through calibrated actions which were augmented by INS Subhadra, HALE RPA, P8I maritime patrol aircraft and MARCOS PRAHARs air-dropped by C-17 aircraft.”