Indian Army Reaches Taraz For Joint Military Exercise With Kazakhstan

This is the fifth joint maneuver between India and Kazakhstan. The armies of both the countries have also participated in Shanghai Cooperation Organization i.e. SCO Multination Exercise.

India and Kazakhstan will participate in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism drills.

Military Exercise: With the Taliban once again taking over Afghanistan and US forces returning to the country, India has begun to consolidate its hold in Central Asia. In this episode, a contingent of the Indian Army on Tuesday reached the Central-Asian country Kazakhstan for a joint military exercise.

According to the reports, this joint exercise between the armies of India and Kazakhstan - KAZIND-21 - will be held in the Taraz Military area of Kazakhstan between August 31 and September 13. 

A contingent of the Bihar Regiment of the Indian Army reached the Taraz airport for this exercise on August 20. Taraj is an area adjacent to Kyrgyzstan. The Indian Air Force's C-17 Globemaster aircraft had arrived with this troop. On reaching Taraz, India's Defense Attache in Kazakhstan and senior military officers of the Kazakhstan Army welcomed the Indian soldiers.

Air Force's C-17 aircraft has reached India through the air routes of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran after leaving the soldiers. The plane did not use Afghanistan's airspace.

This is the fifth joint maneuver between India and Kazakhstan. The armies of both the countries have also participated in Shanghai Cooperation Organization i.e. SCO Multination Exercise.

During the KAZIND-21 exercise, the armies of India and Kazakhstan will participate in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism drills. The purpose of this exercise is to promote military diplomacy, mutual reconciliation and military cooperation between the two countries.

Over the last few years, India has significantly increased its defense cooperation with Central Asian countries, which were formerly part of the Soviet Union. In the month of March this year, the armies of India and Uzbekistan also participated in the 'Dustlik' exercise at Chaubatia (Ranikhet) in Uttarakhand.