DUSTLIK II: Indo-Uzbekistan Field Training Exercise commences in Ranikhet

The joint military exercise of India and Uzbekistan ‘DUSTLIK II’ commenced on March 10, 2021, in Ranikhet (Uttarakhand).

This is the 2nd edition of the annual bilateral joint exercise of the armies of India and Uzbekistan and it will continue till March 19. The first edition of the exercise took place in Uzbekistan in November 2019.

In order to participate in the exercise, the Uzbek soldiers arrived in New Delhi on March 8. The joint army exercise is mainly based on counter-terrorist operations and aims at enhancing the military cooperation between the two countries.

Building Bonds of Friendship

General MM Naravane #COAS and All Ranks of the #IndianArmy convey best wishes to contingents of #IndianArmy and #UzbekistanArmy for Joint Exercise Dustlik-ll scheduled from 10-19 Mar 2021. (1/n)

Welcome to #India#MilitaryCooperation#Friendship pic.twitter.com/yCCXdNrrhO

— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) March 8, 2021

Significance:

The joint army exercise between India and Uzbekistan will provide a push to the ever-growing military and diplomatic ties between the two countries. It will also reflect the strong resolve of the two nations to counter-terrorism.

Key Highlights:

• 45 soldiers each from the army of India and Uzbekistan will be participating in the exercise.

• In the joint military exercise, the Rezangla Battalion 13 Kumaon will be representing the Indian Army.

• The contingents of both the armies will be sharing their skills and expertise in the field of counter-terrorist operations in rural/urban/mountainous scenarios under the UN mandate.

• The military exercise between India and Uzbekistan will lead up to a 36 hours joint validation exercise which is scheduled from March 17 to 18.

• The validation exercise will also be a testbed for the soldiers as they will be undergoing the challenges of actual operations in such a scenario.

First edition of DUSTLIK exercise:

The first-ever joint military exercise between India and Uzbekistan took place in 2019 in Uzbekistan. The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister of Uzbekistan had chaired the curtain raiser of the joint military drill.

The exercise focused on counter-terrorism and continued till November 13, 2019. The Indian Army contingent trained along with the Uzbekistan army. The exercise enabled sharing of experiences and best practices between the armed forces of two nations for greater operational effectiveness.