India-Uzbekistan conduct military exercise ‘EX-DUSTLIK‘

[GS Paper 3 – Defence, GS Paper 2 – Bilateral Relations]

The third edition of the joint training exercise between India’s and Uzbekistan’s armies – EX-DUSTLIK – began in Uzbekistan’s Yangiarik and will continue till March 31.

The joint exercise will focus on Counter Terrorism operations in semi-urban terrain under a United Nations Mandate.

About the Exercise

• The Indian contingent, comprising the platoon strength of the Grenadiers Regiment, left for the drill today to join the Uzbek Army contingent represented by troops of the North Western Military District. 
• The last edition of DUSTLIK was held in Uttarakhand’s Ranikhet last March.
• The training schedule will focus primarily on sharing tactical-level drills and learning the best practices from one another. 
• The exercise aims to enhance understanding, cooperation and inter-operability between the two armies and will culminate in a 24-hour-long validation exercise – a test bed for the soldiers of both countries as they would undergo the challenges of simulated operations.

Significance

• Uzbekistan is important to India for security and connectivity to the Central Asian region and also Iran, it is also one alternative India has with respect to Afghanistan.
  
• Security concerns stemming from the conflict in Afghanistan is one of the major challenges for India’s involvement in Central Asia.
• Both the countries agreed to further strengthen cooperation between the law enforcement agencies and special services of the two countries, including under the framework of the Uzbekistan-India Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism.

India – Uzbekistan Relations over the years

• India – Uzbekistan relations are deeply rooted and go back far beyond the centuries.  
• This served as a solid foundation for the development and strengthening of bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.  
• India was one of the first countries to recognize the state sovereignty of Uzbekistan.

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