Article Posted on : - Mar 01, 2017

Indian Army personnel. A file photo

JAMMU (PTI): In an effort to build bilateral military-to-military relations and skills, a 14-day joint defence exercise 'Al-Nagah-II' between the armies of India and Oman will begin in Himachal Pradesh from March 6.

"Indo-Oman Joint Army Exercise 'AL NAGAH-II 2017' will be conducted between the Indian and Oman Army from 6 to 19 March in the Dhauladhar Ranges at Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh," PRO, Defence, Jammu, Lt Col Manish Mehta said.

This is the second joint military exercise between the two countries which have a history of extensive cooperation in the defence arena, he said, adding the first one was held in Oman in January 2015.

The PRO said the participating troops for the exercise have been drawn from one infantry battalion each from the Indian Army and the Royal Army of Oman.

Approximately 60 troops from both countries will participate in the exercise, he added.

"The aim of the exercise is to build and promote bilateral Army-to-Army relations and enhance interoperability while exchanging skills and experiences between the Indian Army and the Royal Army of Oman", he said.

He further said that an added aim of the exercise is to qualitatively enhance knowledge of each other's military procedures, thus increasing the scope for interoperability and better responsiveness to a common threat.

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, he said.

"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," Lt Col Mehta said.

The PRO said that the vast experience and expertise gained by Indian troops in counter insurgency operations holds special importance for the Royal Army of Oman.

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