India, France to carry out bilateral Army exercise from Nov 15 to 26; focus on counter-terror operations
With a focus on counter-terror operations, India and France will hold a 12-day-long bilateral Army exercise beginning Monday (November 15) in the French port town of Frejus.
According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), a platoon strength of a Gorkha Rifles Infantry Battalion will represent the Indian Army while the French side will deploy troops of 21st Marine Infantry Regiment of 6th Light Armoured Brigade at the exercise.
The training will focus primarily on a high degree of physical fitness, sharing of drills at the tactical level and learning of best practices from each other.
“Exercise SHAKTI will focus on counter-terrorism operations in the backdrop of semi-urban terrain under United Nations mandate with an aim to enhance military cooperation and interoperability between the two armies,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
It is a biennial exercise that is conducted alternately in India and France. The latest edition of the SHAKTI Exercise took place in Rajasthan in 2019.
