SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA FEDERATION, Friday, 22 November 2019 – The four-day Second Navy Staff Talks and the Final Planning Conference (FPC) for the inaugural Bilateral Exercise between the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) and the Russian Navy came to a close at the Central Naval Museum, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.
The FPC was hosted by the Russian Navy and chaired by 1st Rank Captain Vavilov Sergey, Chief of International Military Department of Russian Navy. The RBN was represented by Commander Sonny Iskandar bin Rasani, Chief of Staff RBN as the RBN’s Head of Delegation with the company of Commander Saiful Hazril bin Ali, Assistant Chief of Staff (Operations) and Lieutenant Commander Ade Roddiane bin Haji Mohd Rosdi, Staff Grade 2 Fleet Operations.
The Second Navy Staff Talks and the FPC provided a platform for both parties to discuss and coordinate the details towards the production of the first Naval Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Naval Exercise Instructions Documents, the prospect and feasibility of conducting naval courses in Russia for RBN personnel of all ranks and the conduct of the first RBN and Russian Navy Bilateral Exercise in 2020. The inaugural exercise will be held in Brunei Darussalam waters and it will be a significant milestone for both navies. Several interaction programs are planned for the exercise and will provide both navies the opportunity to develop and strengthen naval cooperative ties.
During the four-day planning conference, the Russian Navy had also included visits to Central Naval Museum, Isaac Cathedral, The Hermitage and ‘Main Artillery and Signals Museum’. An official dinner was also hosted by the Russian Navy’s head of delegation at the resident of the Russian’s Chief of Navy. The Navy Staff Talk and the FPC concluded with the signing of the minutes at the ‘Vodokanal St Petersburg Complex’.
