Article Posted on : - Aug 18, 2014

NEW DELHI (PTI): As part of the ongoing military cooperation between India and Nepal, their armies will hold combined training exercise from today.

The combined training will be carried out in the mountain terrain of Pithoragarh in the northern Himalayas at an altitude of 5,000 to 6,000 feet. The exercise will conclude on August 30.

Based on an agreement during the 7th Indo-Nepal Bilateral Consultative Group on security, the two countries commenced combined training at platoon level in 2011 and enhanced it to company level in 2012. It currently stands upgraded to battalion level.

This will be the second battalion level combined exercise and approximately 300 personnel, including officers and JCOs from both the armies, will participate in the two-week long exercise.

The aim of the exercise will be to hone sub-unit level tactics and develop interoperability between Indian Army and Nepalese Army in jungle warfare, counter terrorism operations in mountainous terrain, as also to provide working knowledge of disaster management to include pandemic/epidemic diseases control and aviation aspects, an army release said.