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India, Saudi Arabia kick off joint drills in Rajasthan
The drills will involve the setting up of mobile vehicle check posts, cordon and search operations, house intervention drills, reflex shooting, slithering and sniper firing
India and Saudi Arabia on Monday kicked off their inaugural joint military exercise Sada Tanseeq at Mahajan in Rajasthan to deepen military cooperation, the Indian Army said in a statement.
The military drills will last till February 10, with the Saudi Arabian contingent comprising 45 personnel of Royal Saudi Land Forces, while the home country is being represented by an equal number of soldiers from the mechanised infantry.
“The aim of the exercise is to train troops of both sides for joint operations in semi-desert terrain under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. The exercise will enable both sides to share best practices in tactics, techniques and procedures of conducting operations in the sub-conventional domain. It will facilitate developing interoperability, bonhomie and camaraderie between troops from the two sides,” the statement said.
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The drills will involve the setting up of mobile vehicle check posts, cordon and search operations, house intervention drills, reflex shooting, slithering and sniper firing.
The exercise will serve as a platform to achieve shared security objectives, enhance the level of defence cooperation and foster bilateral relations between the two friendly nations, it added.
In September 2023, India and Saudi Arabia outlined steps to expedite Riyadh’s long-gestating plan to invest $100 billion in the country, including a mega refinery, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman explored ways to bolster cooperation in areas ranging from energy to defence.
During their meeting, the two leaders focused on cooperation in defence, security, energy, technology, transportation, healthcare and education, and identified space and semiconductors as new areas of collaboration.
