- From the Indian side, 13 Kumaon regiment (also called Rezang La Battalion) was nominated for the exercise.
- 45 Soldiers each from the Indian & Uzbekistan Army had participated in the exercise which will recreate a Kashmir-like counter-terror operation.
- The 1st Edition of ‘Dustlik-I’ was hosted by Uzbekistan in Chirchiq Training Area near Tashkent from November 4-13, 2019.
Objective
- To share Expertise & skills in counter-terrorist operations in mountainous/rural/urban scenario under United Nations (UN) mandate.
- To boost the military & diplomatic ties between the two countries.
- Focus on people-centric intelligence-based surgical operations, utilizing technological advancements to minimize collateral damage.
Drills to be carried out
- The army will showcase the use of force multipliers such as helicopters, Special Forces, specialist equipment & the establishment of an automated surveillance grid for situation awareness.
- Indian Contingent had also representatives from Para Special Forces, Signal & Engineers in addition to an Interpreter.
- The exercise will end with a 36 hours Joint Validation Exercise. It will be a testbed for soldiers of both armies as they will undergo challenges of actual operations in a simulated environment.
Turkmenistan Special Forces
- The Indian Army commenced training to the Turkmenistan Special Forces at its Special Forces Training School (SFTS) at Nahan, Himachal Pradesh.
- It is aimed at enhancing the capabilities of Turkmenistan Special Forces.
Recent Related News:
i.On December 11, 2020, the first bilateral virtual summit between India and Uzbekistan was co-chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev to discuss the entire gamut of the bilateral relationship, including strengthening India-Uzbekistan cooperation in the post- COVID-19 world between both nations.
About Uzbekistan:
President – Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Capital – Tashkent
Currency – Uzbekistan Som (UZS)