Indian Army contingent arrives in Seychelles for 9th edition of Exercise Lamitiye

By Trend

An Indian Army contingent arrived in Seychelles on Monday for the ninth edition of the Joint Military Exercise Lamitiye 2022 between the Indian Army and Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF). The exercise is being conducted at the Seychelles Defence Academy (SDA) from March 22 to 31.

An infantry platoon strength each from the Indian Army and SDF, along with respective company headquarters, will participate in this exercise, which aims to share experiences gained during various operations against hostile forces in a semi-urban environment and enhance capability to undertake joint operations. The Indian Army comprises troops from the 2/3 Gorkha Rifles group (Prikanthi Battalion).

Lamitiye, which in Creole means friendship, is a biennial training event being conducted in Seychelles since 2001. In the series of military exercises undertaken by India with various countries, Exercise Lamitiye with Seychelles is crucial and significant in terms of security challenges faced by both the nations in the backdrop of the current global situation and growing security concerns in the Indian Ocean Region.

The 10-day-long joint exercise will include field training exercises, combat discussions, lectures, demonstrations and culminate with a two days validation exercise. The objective of the joint training exercise is to build and promote bilateral military relations in addition to exchanging skills, experiences and good practices between both armies.

Officials said both sides will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well-developed tactical drills for neutralisation of likely threats. There will be emphasis on enhancing tactical skills in combating hostile forces in semi-urban environment and on increasing interoperability between forces.