New Delhi, Mar 19 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India was committed to protecting freedom of navigation and combating piracy and terrorism in the Indian Ocean region.

He said this while appreciating Bulgarian President Rumen Radev's gratitude to the Indian Navy for successfully carrying out a rescue operation on the hijacked Bulgarian ship, MV Ruen, on Monday.

PM Modi in his message on X said, "Appreciate your message President @PresidentOfBg . 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."

The 'Rouen' ship with Bulgarians, Myanmarese and one Angolan citizen onboard was hijacked by pirates in the Arabian Sea in December last year.

In a post on X, the Bulgarian President said, “My sincere gratitude to PM @narendramodi for the brave action of Navy rescuing the hijacked Bulgarian ship “Ruen” and its crew, including 7 Bulgarian citizens.”

Earlier, Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel had said that she held a conversation with the Indian Ambassador to Bulgaria, Sanjay Rana, over the Indian Navy’s Operation and thanked him for rescuing Bulgarian nationals.

In her post, she said, "I express my gratitude to the ...navy for the successful operation to rescue the hijacked vessel Ruen &its crew members, including 7 BG nationals Thank you for support &great effort. We continue to work together to protect lives of the crew."