These 22 countries of Africa will conduct maneuvers with Indian Army for 9 days, will take training of weapons and drones made in India. Indian army to hold AFINDEX exercise with
During this exercise, the India-Africa Defense Chiefs Conclave will be held on March 28, in which Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will also participate.
Image Credit source: PTI
Indian Army March 21 to 22 African countries Will start a nine-day military exercise with. Field training exercise is the second edition of joint training conducted between India and Africa. The Multinational Africa India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX) will begin on 21 March 2023 in Pune and end on 30 March 2023. The soldiers of the African country will take special training in weapons and drones prepared under the Make in India scheme. This training is divided into four phases.
The Foreign Training Node (FTN) of the Indian Army located at the Aundh military station in Pune will host a multinational military exercise involving the Indian Army and armies of 22 African countries from March 21. The exercise will focus on humanitarian mine assistance and UN peacekeeping operations.
What is the purpose of this training?
India has been one of the largest contributors of troops to UN peacekeeping missions across the world. The objective of this specialized training is to hone the skills of defense forces participating in the planning and conduct of Humanitarian Mine Assistance and Peacekeeping Operations under Chapter VII of the UN Peacekeeping Operations Charter.
UN mandated tasks include the establishment of new missions for UN peacekeeping, the protection of civilians, the specifics of permanent combat deployment, convoy protection, aspects of patrolling, and aspects related to humanitarian mine assistance. A total of 22 countries of India and Africa will take similar training together.
Conclave on 28 March
During this, the India-Africa Defense Chiefs Conclave will be held on 28 March. This conclave will be held in two sessions. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will also participate in this conclave. On March 28 itself, Army Chief General Manod Pandey will preside over the conference of army chiefs of 22 countries participating in the training.
Which countries will be involved?
Niger, Zimbabwe, Congo, Malawi, Uganda, Seychelles, Gambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho are among the 22 countries participating in the training.