The INS Trishul Lisbon visit ended on Wednesday, when the Indian Navy's guided missile stealth frigate sailed from the Portuguese capital after a port call with the Portuguese Navy.

She had reached Lisbon on 18 October, fresh from an exercise with the Royal Navy off the British coast.

INS Trishul Lisbon visit brings talks with the Portuguese Navy

The ship's Commanding Officer called on the Commander of the Portuguese Navy. According to the Indian Navy, the two held discussions on improving operational synergy and interoperability, and on finding new areas where the navies can work together.

Officers and sailors from both sides also met for professional interactions and shared best practices, the Navy said.

Ambassador Puneet R Kundal visits the frigate

The ship was opened to visitors during her stay. Members of the Indian diaspora in Portugal and Portuguese naval personnel came on board and spent time with the crew.

India's Ambassador to Portugal, Puneet R Kundal, also visited the INS Trishul Lisbon berth and met the officers and crew. The Embassy of India in Lisbon had begun preparing for the visit in August, when it floated a tender notice for the port call.

Portuguese and Brazilian naval officers attend reception on board

A cultural exchange was hosted on the ship. Guests included the Indian Ambassador, envoys of other countries, officers of the Portuguese and Brazilian navies and members of the Indian diaspora.

Rear Admiral Paulo Silva Pereira, Deputy Fleet Commander and Flotilla Commander of the Portuguese Navy, was among them.

INS Sudarshini called at Lisbon in August

He has hosted the Indian Navy before. In August, the Commanding Officer of the sail training ship INS Sudarshini called on him during her three day stop at Lisbon under the Lokayan 26 expedition. That visit, which ended on 25 August, also took the sail ship's trainees to the Portuguese Naval Academy.

INS Trishul's call brought a frontline warship to the same harbour two months later.

Konkan-26 and Varuna came before Lisbon

Lisbon followed a busy run at sea. Off Plymouth, the frigate joined HMS Sutherland, a Duke-class anti-submarine warfare frigate, for Exercise Konkan-26 from 8 to 15 October. The four-day sea phase covered seamanship, anti-submarine and asymmetric warfare drills and weapon firings.

Before the UK, she was at Toulon from 22 September for the 24th edition of Exercise Varuna with the French Navy. She then called at Valencia in Spain on 30 September. The deployment had opened in the Mediterranean with a port call at Alexandria, Egypt, from 14 to 17 September.

INS Trishul is a Talwar-class frigate and has served with the Indian Navy since 2003, including on anti-piracy patrols.