The Ninth edition of Indo-Bangladesh Joint Military Exercise “SAMPRITI-IX” commenced at Umroi, Meghalaya on Monday and shall be on till 16th of February 2020.The focus of this edition of the fourteen days joint exercise is on Counter-Terrorism Operations in mountainous and jungle terrain. Emphasize, to achieve interoperability in joint operations, a Command Post Exercise (CPX) and a Field Training Exercise (FTX) will be conducted simultaneously.

A delegation comprising of 31 officers and 138 other ranks of Bangladesh Army and a Company Group of Indian Army are participating in the joint military exercise. The Bangladesh Army contingent is led by Brigadier General Md Shafiul Azam. Both armies intend to familiarize with each other through various tactical drills and procedures. Soldiers from both the armies will then graduate to joint tactical operations like Cordon and Search, Raid, and House Clearance Drills.“SAMPRITI-IX” started on Monday with gala opening ceremony that included an impressive parade by both the army contingents and mesmerizing band display.

The parade was jointly reviewed by Brig Rajesh Sharma, Head of Indian Army Delegation and Brig Gen Md Shafiul Azam, Head of Bangladesh Army Delegation. “The joint exercise will culminate after a validation exercise,” said, Lt Col Harsh Wardhan Pande, PRO, Defence, Tezpur, Assam.

SAMPRITI series of bilateral exercise is one of the major bilateral Defence cooperation initiatives between Indian and Bangladeshi Army.

(The writer is a Delhi-based independent contributor to print and online publications)