8th Edition of joint military exercise MITRA SHAKTI concluded

The eighth iteration of Exercise Mitra Shakti, a joint military exercise between the Indian Army and the Sri Lankan Army that took place from October 4 to 16, came to an end on October 16 at Combat Training School, Ampara. 

Key Highlights

• The largest bilateral exercise being undertaken by the Sri Lankan Army, Mitra Shakti, is based on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in semi-urban terrain, and it forms a major part of India and Sri Lanka’s growing defence partnership, according to a Ministry of Defence statement. 
• The participating contingents expressed immense satisfaction at the termination of the exercise in terms of standards achieved during the conduct of the said exercise.
• The 12-day mega military exercise from 4 to 15 October began with a focus on enhancing counter-terror cooperation at the Combat Training School.
• The exercise got underway with the participation of an all arms contingent of 120 Indian Army personnel, headed by Colonel Prakash Kumar.
• The joint military exercise has been designed to enhance understanding of transnational terrorism, inter-operability skills, conduct of joint tactical operations, sharing of each other’s best practices and experiences, the Sri Lanka Army said.
• The annual training programme, which has largely contributed to strengthen bilateral military cooperation, understanding and bonds of neighbourly relations between both services, takes place alternatively either in India or Sri Lanka every year, it added.

SOURCE: Livemint, The Indian Express

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