BackIndia and Africa hold first army chiefs’ conclave
India has been at the forefront of providing training to the armed forces of African nations and equipping them with necessary skills to face the security challenges of the 21st century, the government said
PremiumIn a sign of New Delhi’s deepening defence engagement with Africa, Pune played host to senior army officers as well as civilian and defence officials for the first India-Africa Army Chiefs’ Conclave.
The meeting, which was organised on the sidelines of the AFINDEX joint exercises, was attended by defence minister Rajnath Singh and chief of the army staff general Manoj Pande among others.
“Rajnath Singh reiterated India’s commitment to provide support to African partner-countries in all defence related matters, including capability enhancement of their Armed Forces, to ensure their economic growth and social development," an official release said.
“India has been at the forefront of providing training to the Armed Forces of African nations and equipping them with necessary skills to face the security challenges of the 21st century. The training programmes cover a wide range of areas, including counter-insurgency operations, peacekeeping, maritime security and specialised training in new domains such as cyber warfare and drone operations. It also encompasses training civilians in areas such as disaster management, humanitarian aid and medical assistance. A large number of African Countries’ Armed Forces personnel continue to visit India for training in different areas," the release added.
India and its numerous defence partners on the African continent are brought together by their focus on maritime security and counter-terrorism, according to Singh. The AFINDEX exercise, which is currently in its second iteration, is aimed at strengthening interoperability between India’s defence forces and key partners. The 10-day exercises features participation from 23 African nations including Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles and South Africa among others. The focus of the exercises will be humanitarian mine action and peacekeeping operations. Given India’s substantial presence in United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa, strengthening interoperability between militaries will improve overall effectiveness.
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