India-Oman joint military exercise in Himachal Pradesh from Mar 6

JALANDHAR: Armies of India and Oman will conduct their second joint exercise "Al Nagah-II 2017" from March 6 at Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh.

This will be the second joint military exercise between the two countries which have a history of extensive cooperation in the defence arena, the first one was held in Oman in January 2015, a defence spokesman said here today.

The aim of the exercise, to be conducted between March 6 and 19 in Dhauladhar ranges, is to build and promote bilateral Army-to-Army relations and enhance interoperability while exchanging skills and experiences between the two armies.

The troops for this exercise have been drawn from one Infantry Battalion each from the Indian Army and the Royal Army of Oman, he said.

"Approximately 60 troops from both the countries will participate in the exercise, which will help in enhancing knowledge of each other's military procedures and increasing the scope for interoperability and better responsiveness to a common threat," he said.

The Indian troops have undergone extensive training on rock craft, slithering, counter-terrorism or low-intensity conflict operations, in addition to tactical drills of close cordon and house intervention drills to fulfil the mandate of the joint exercise.

The 14-day exercise with the Royal Army of Oman is scheduled to be conducted in multiple modules in order to achieve complete integration between the two contingents at every stage, he said.

"The vast experience and expertise gained by the Indian troops in counter insurgency operations holds special importance to the Oman Army," he said.

Conduct of the joint exercise would set the stage for greater defence cooperation between the two nations, he added.