Army Chief embarks on Uzbekistan visit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 15

Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande today embarked on a three-day visit to Uzbekistan. Simultaneously, an armed forces contingent also left for a two-week joint exercise (April 15-28) — ‘Dustlik’ — with the Uzbek army.

General Pande will engage in dialogues with top defence leadership of Uzbekistan. Meetings are planned with Uzbekistan’s Defence Minister Lieutenant General Bakhodir Kurbanov, First Deputy Minister of Defence and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Major General Khalmukhamedov Shukhrat Gayratjanovich, and the Deputy Minister and Chief of Air and Air Defence Forces Major General Burkhanov Ahmed Jamalovich.

General Pande will pay homage to former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri, who died at Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He will also visit the Uzbekistan Armed Forces Academy and inaugurate an IT lab, which has been established with India’s assistance.

On April 18, the Army Chief is scheduled to witness ‘Dustlik’ at Termez. The drill is an annual feature and this is the fifth edition. The exercise aims to execute joint operations in mountainous as well as semi-urban terrain. It would focus on high degree of physical fitness, joint planning, joint tactical drills and basics of special arms skills.

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