India, Kazakhstan start joint military drill in Meghalaya

The armies of India and Kazakhstan on Thursday began a fortnight-long joint exercise in Meghalaya, a senior defence officer said here.

The sixth edition of 'Kazind-22', a joint training exercise aimed at enhancing the level of defence cooperation and fostering bilateral relations between the two nations, started at Umroi, 25 km from Shillong, and will conclude on December 28, he said.

"This joint exercise will enable the two armies to train, plan and execute a series of combined tactical drills for neutralising likely threats that may be encountered during UN peacekeeping operations," the Army officer told PTI.

The two countries instituted a joint annual training exercise in 2016 as 'Exercise Prabal Dostyk', which was later upgraded to a company-level exercise and renamed 'Exercise Kazind' in 2018.

The Kazakh soldiers were drawn from their South-based Regional Command while the 11 Gorkha Rifles will be participating in the exercise representing the Indian Army, the officer said.

As both armies will be participating in various combat games besides joint tactical planning and drills, it is expected that the exercise will improve military relations, imbibe each other's best practices and promote the ability to operate together while undertaking counter-terrorist operations in semi-urban or jungle scenarios under a UN peace enforcement mandate, he added.