From 16 to 24 January 2019 the director of the Hydrographic Institute of the Navy (IIM), Rear Admiral Luigi Sinapi, carried out a mission in the South East Asia area, visiting the Hydrographic Institutes and Offices of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, in order to to increase the mutual knowledge of the dynamics afferent to the Hydro-Oceanographic sector and to investigate areas of possible cooperation in the specific sectors of hydrography, cartography, oceanography and higher personnel training.
In particular, in Malaysia on 16 and 17 January, the IIM delegation was able to visit the Malaysia National Hydrographic Center (NHC), where the Malaysian general director, rear admiral Dato 'Hanafiah bin Hassan, was very appreciated the national presence and the desire to establish a wider cooperation in the hydro-oceanographic sectors and in the training of personnel, hoping for an increasingly fruitful cooperation between the respective navies and in particular in the sectors of specific interest
In Indonesia at the Indonesian Navy Hydrographic and Oceanographic Center (PUSHIDROSAL) on 20 and 21 January the visit was returned that the rear admiral dr. Harjo Susomoro, director general of the Indonesian Center, carried out in Genoa last June, and thanks to which a first cooperation in terms of training of Indonesian personnel at the IIM has already been activated last October, with the holding of a course relating to Geospatial matter and support for naval operations. During this visit, a strong interest was also expressed in the training courses carried out by the IIM and the foundations were laid for future cooperation activities.
Finally, on 23 and 24 January, Thailand was visited at the Hydrographic Department Royal Thai Navy (HDRTN) where the Italian delegation was received by the director general of the center, vice admiral Chaiwoot Nawikanjana. During the meeting it was underlined how the direct knowledge of the interlocutors in the sector at an interregional level is the basis for expanding mutual knowledge between the different areas of the globe aimed at increasing initiatives that can involve all the member countries of the International in an inclusive way. Hydrographic Organization (IHO) in order to increase the safety of navigation worldwide.
The mission carried out has given way to establish and strengthen ties with the nations of this area of the globe which, like Italy, are members of the IHO and to favor, more broadly, the strengthening of bilateral relations between the reciprocal countries. This was amply emphasized during the meetings that the delegation had with the Italian ambassadors present in the countries visited, arousing a high level of interest in the activity carried out by the IIM and receiving concrete and extraordinary support from the local diplomatic offices, as evidence of an effective and efficient "country system".
The continuous comparison that IIM carries out with nations also geographically distant, combined with the mutual knowledge of the activities carried out, is a fundamental enabling element that provides added value to the national activities of the hydro-oceanographic sector, increasing the quality of the work done to guarantee the safety of navigation and to protect the marine environment.
