Russian forces arrive in Pakistan for third joint-military drill

Press Trust of India  |  Islamabad 

A contingent arrived here on Monday to take part in the third edition of a joint bilateral military training exercise, the said.

This will be the third joint military drill between and under the bilateral training cooperation agreement, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the of the

"Contingent arrived in Pakistan to participate in the Pak-Joint Training Exercise 'Druzhba-III'," the statement added.

The Army did not provide any further details about the drills.

Earlier, the said that drill will be held at the training range in Nowshera district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and over 70 soldiers from Russia's southern military district will participate.

The servicemen from the two countries' armed forces will perform tasks at the altitude of 1,400 meters above the sea level.

Meanwhile, said that the third exercise was part of the Pak-bilateral training cooperation.

The two sides are trying to bolster defence ties and in August this year they inked an agreement allowing Pakistani troops to train in Russia.

The agreement was signed during the visit of to to participate in the first (JMCC) meeting on security and defence.

Russia and Pakistan have been holding the 'Friendship' drills since 2016. In October 2016, they held their first-ever joint military exercise in Pakistan. In 2017, over 200 servicemen took part in the drills, hosted by Russia at Minralney Vody in the at an altitude of 2,300 meters above sea level.

Pakistan's defence ties with Russia have moved past the bitter Cold War hostilities in recent years and the chill in the relations between Pakistan and the US has further pushed the country towards Russia and

Pakistan has shown eagerness to build defence level ties with Russia.

Russia has over the past three years provided four combat and cargo helicopters to Pakistan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Mon, October 22 2018. 13:50 IST