Umroi (Meghalaya), May 30 (PTI) Armies of 13 countries came together in Meghalaya’s Umroi for the maiden multilateral military exercise ‘Pragati 2026’, which concluded on Saturday with a focus on countering insurgency and building mutual trust among the nations in the Indian Ocean region, officials said.
Over 400 soldiers, including around 20 women, from Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and India slithered down from helicopters, detected IEDs along routes and climbed down rocky walls during the two-week exercise, they said.
Vice-chief of the Indian Army, Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth, was present at the closing ceremony, which was attended by six vice-chiefs and more than 40 senior military officials from the participating nations.
Lt Gen Seth engaged in bilateral interactions aimed at strengthening defence cooperation and military-to-military relations.
Detailed discussions on how to incorporate niche technologies and the effect of these on the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) were held during the two-week-long programme.
“Pragati was a mega exercise in the serene environment of Umroi in Meghalaya. We conducted various specialised drills and procedures, including rock craft, special heliborne operations, tactical situations,” said Brig Mayur Shekatkar, the chief coordinator for the programme.
Director of the exercise, Col Sandeep Poonia, said Pragati stands for ‘Partnership of Regional Armies for Growth and Transformation in the Indian Ocean Region’.
“The aim is to create synergy, interoperability, and enhance mutual trust among the friendly foreign nations. The last two weeks we trained together, during which focus was on counter-insurgency operations based in semi-mountainous and jungle terrain,” he said.
Brig Shekatkar emphasised that it provided a platform for building friendship and camaraderie among the participating nations, with the personnel coming closer by engaging themselves in sports and games as well as cultural activities.
The routine also enabled them to experience the calmness of Yoga, he said.
“We hope to achieve the objectives of enhancing interoperability, building mutual trust and each other’s capacities through the sharing of best practises. There is also the aspect of everlasting bonds of friendships, with the one objective of ensuring a stable and secure region,” he added.
Col Poonia said detailed discussions were held on how to incorporate the latest and niche technology, and what the effect of these on operations in the TTPs.
The exercise also provided an opportunity for sharing key best practices in the engineering field.
“As part of the exercise, we have trained in tactical environments wherein key engineering tasks were done, and best practices were shared. For instance, counter IED drills were undertaken in a simulated combat environment,” Major Susmita S Variar, engineering representative in the exercise, said.
She said operating in mixed groups with personnel from foreign nations has given valuable exposure to different tactical drills, equipment and operating procedures, which will enhance coordination.
The participating foreign nations expressed gratitude to the Indian Army for hosting such an exercise.
Lt Col Sangay Jantsho of the Royal Bhutan Army said, “We thank the Indian Army for organising this exercise, which has been a successful one. It has been an opportunity for us to interact with troops of other nations, learn and share our experience and expertise in counter-insurgency.” He said it was a valuable exposure to operating alongside different countries.
Lt Col.Louis Agathine harped on the historical ties between his country, Seychelles, and India, and said such exercises will enhance friendship across the Indian Ocean region.
“We are happy to exchange ideas, and we will put into practice what we learned,” he said.
Staff Sergeant Mary Simongo of the Philippines said, “We express our sincere thanks to the Indian Army for this exercise. We gained valuable knowledge and ideas, which we will take home.” As part of the exercise, the Indian Army, in collaboration with FICCI and the Army Design Bureau, organised a defence equipment display, showcasing indigenous defence technologies and next-generation military equipment.
It showcased India’s growing capabilities in defence design, development and manufacturing. PTI SSG SOM
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