India, Sri Lanka Army officers in Pune on Friday. (Express Photo) THE NINTH edition of the Army to Army Staff Talks (AAST) between delegations from the Indian Army and Sri Lankan Army are being held in Pune with an aim to bolster bilateral defence ties between two countries who are neighbours in the strategically significant Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
“Ninth Annual Army to Army Staff Talks (AAST) between Indian Army and Sri Lankan Army are being conducted at Pune. The talks will focus on further strengthening defence cooperation engagements including training and exchanges in the fields of sports and culture.” said the Indian Army in a tweet on Friday. The three-day talks will conclude on Saturday.
The first edition of the talks was held back in 2011, have since focused on defence cooperation, training, joint military exercises and exchanges in other areas. These annual talks alternately held in India and Sri Lanka also include guest delegations’ visits to various places of interest. The Sri Lankas delegation is also visiting various ket defence establishments in Pune.
The delegation of six Sri Lankan Armed Force officers led by Maj Gen H P Ranasinghe visited Military Institute of Technology located at Girinagar in Pune on Friday. “The team interacted with MILIT Commandant Air Vice Marshal V Rajasekhar and faculty on the training methodology and best practices being undertaken at the MILIT. The Sri Lankan delegation visited various training facilities and were briefed on the various armed forces related technological studies being undertaken at MILIT. The delegation also interacted with the Sri Lankan Army student officers attending the Defence Services Technical Staff Course at the MILIT,” said a press statement issued through Defence PRO, Pune.
Other annual feature of India Sri Lanka military exercise is Mitra Shakti. Two years after its 7th edition was held at Foreign Training Node in Pune, the 8th edition of India Sri Lanka bilateral Joint Exercise, Mitra Shakti, was conducted at Combat Training School, Ampara in Sri Lanka in October last year.
The aim is to promote close relations between armies of both the countries and enhance inter-operability and sharing best practices in counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations. Mitra Shakti which means ‘power of friendship’ is conducted under the UN mandate as both the armies contribute to the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
