Opening ceremony of Shakti 2019, India-France joint military exercise held at Bikaner

The opening ceremony of the 14-day joint exercise 'Shakti-2019' between Indian and French armies was held at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges here on Friday.

The joint training exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability between the two armies and further strengthening the military relations between them.

The opening ceremony saw the unfurling of the national flags of both countries amidst playing of the respective national anthems. This ceremony also witnessed synchronized marching of troops on martial tunes on au fait words of command of the contingent commanders. This was followed by an evocative speech by Reviewing Officers of both countries.

"The shared commitment to democracy, pluralism and multilateralism is another important dimension of the bilateral relations and global responsibilities between India and France", said Brigadier P.S.Cheema.

He also said, "We share perspectives about countering terrorism with a firm conviction and our great armies have proved their mettle in the past. We have a lot to learn from each other especially in our approach towards handling the modern-day challenges posed by global terrorism."

"Our armies have gained a wealth of knowledge on how to fight in a Counter-Terrorist environment all across the world. We have many lessons to share with each other and coming together today gives us this opportunity," said Col Ludovic Dumont, Defence Attache, France in India.

The 14 days joint exercise will facilitate both armies to know each other better, share their operational experience and enhance awareness through information exchange.

This will help them in undertaking joint operations at platoon level for countering terrorist threat under the Mandate United Nations.