The second edition of the Africa-India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX-2023) between India and 23 nations of the African continent commenced at the Foreign Training Node in Aundh, Pune, on Tuesday. According to the official statement, 100 participants from Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, the Seychelles, Senegal, Sudan, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are attending this unique field training exercise. The participants were addressed by Lt. Gen. Rakesh Kapoor, Corps Commander, Desert Corps.
The joint exercise is in keeping with India’s outreach to Africa, which commenced in 2008 through the India-Africa Summit and has been held thereafter in 2015 and 2019. The theme of the exercise is focused on humanitarian mine action and peacekeeping operations, according to the official statement. The improvement of interoperability and operational readiness for UN peacekeeping missions depends on military engagement and cooperation among the participating member countries.
The objectives of the exercise are to continue to build upon the initiatives taken to strengthen India-Africa relations, with a focus on enhancing peace and security, and to create opportunities to exchange ideas and perspectives, learn from the African experience in cooperative security and management of security crisis situations, as well as promote a collaborative approach in capacity enhancement of African armies, the press release read.
The primary focus of the joint exercise will remain on tactical drills, procedures, and the ability to operate jointly with seamless interoperability. The joint exercise will bring out the practical aspects of the theme-based training and aim to enable the participants to comprehend and put into practice the validated drills and procedures through situational-based discussions and tactical exercises.