NEW DELHI – India is set to carry out its first-ever military exercise withUzbekistan to strengthen military diplomacy in the Eurasian region. A45-member contingent is taking part in a joint military exercise namedDUSTLIK-2019 that will primarily focus on anti-terror operations.
During the 10-day military exercise, beginning 4 November, the troops willtrain in heliborne operations, mountain craft, tactical operations andhouse-intervention drills.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Uzbeki counterpart BakhodirNizamovich Kurbanov will witness the curtain-raiser event of the jointexercise on 3 November. The two countries will discuss defence cooperationin detail, in a separate bilateral meet between the two countries.
On Friday morning, Rajnath Singh arrived in Tashkent to attend the ShanghaiCooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting and also to attend bilateralengagements with Uzbekistan.
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“I Look forward to meeting Uzbekistan’s Defence Minister, Major Gen. K.Nizamovich to discuss issues pertaining to defence cooperation,” theminister stated ahead of departing for the country.
Last year, the two countries agreed to hold joint military trainingexercises in the field of counter-terrorismlinkandto cooperate in military education and army medicine. It was also decidedto set up a Joint Working Group to support and sustain enhanceddefence-related activities and defence wings at their respective embassiesin Tashkent and New Delhi, Sputnik has reported.
