The Indo-French joint military exercise, aimed at enhancing various combat skills, promoting mutual understanding and inter-operability between the two armies kick started today at Chaubattia, Ranikhet with a grand opening ceremony where troops of both countries participated. The event was witnessed by army persons of both the countries.
Termed ‘SHAKTI- 2011’, this fifteen days training is the first ever joint training between the two armies focusing on Counter Terrorism operations. The participating contingents are 60 French troops of the elite 13 Mountain Battalion and an equal number of personnel from 2 BIHAR Regt under the aegis of 99 Mountain Brigade.
During the course of training, the troops from the two countries will practice basic combat tactics related to various aspects of Counter Terrorism operations in detail and exchange their combat techniques/ skills. The training syllabus also includes sharing of each other’s experiences and lessons drawn from operations undertaken by the two great armies. The highlights of this training would be the final consolidation exercise in which troops of both armies will jointly plan and execute a series of counter terrorist operations including mountain techniques and employment of commandoes in the thick forests on the outskirts of Ranikhet.
Exercise ‘SHAKTI- 2011’ is the first step taken by India and France to share their experiences and technological expertise in curbing terrorism. In addition to giving an insight into the functioning of two different and powerful armies of the world, the exercise is likely to enhance defence cooperation and military-to-military relations between the two nations and will be a harbinger to future cooperation in ensuring world peace and stability.
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