India-Nepal militaries to conduct joint battalion level exercise SURYA KIRAN-XIII

Joint military exercise SURYA KIRAN-XIII will be conducted between India and Nepal at Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand from May 30 to June 12, 2018.  

This will be the thirteenth edition of the military exercise between India and Nepal.

SURYA KIRAN-XIII

• The joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence cooperation which will further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two nations.

• The military exercise will include training on jungle warfare, anti-terrorism combat as well as disaster response activities.

• Over 300 soldiers from both Indian and Nepal Army will be participating in the exercise.

• These soldiers will be sharing the experiences gained during the conduct of various counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations in the past.

Exercise SURYA KIRAN

• Exercise SURYA KIRAN is a biannual exercise which is conducted alternatively in Nepal and India.

• Notably, among all the military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries, it is Exercise SURYA KIRAN with Nepal which is the largest in terms of troop participation.  

• The aim of this exercise is to conduct battalion level joint training with emphasis on counter terrorism operations in mountainous terrain.

• During the exercise, aspects of disaster management and joint effort towards relief work have also been included.

• The joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence cooperation which will further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two nations.

• The 12th edition of India-Nepal joint military exercise- Surya Kiran XII was held at Nepal Army Battle School (NABS) in Saljhandi, Nepal.