Army chief Gen. Bipin Rawat today left on a five-day visit to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan with an aim to bolster bilateral defence cooperation with the two central Asian countries.
Gen. Rawat's first destination will be Kazakhstan, where he will meet the country's defence minister, chairman of the national security Committee and vice minister of defence, the Army said.
The Army chief is accompanied by a high-level military delegation.
During his three-day-long visit to Kazakhstan, Gen Rawat will also hold talks with the commander-in-chief of the country's land forces and will interact with the top echelon of the Kazakh aerospace industry.
Gen. Rawat will be in Turkmenistan on August 4 and 5 during which he will be meeting the minister of defence and the secretary of the national security council on ways to ramp up defence ties between the two countries.
He will also meet the first deputy minister and the chief of general staff along with the commanders of land, naval, air and air defence forces of Turkmenistan, the Army said.
The delegation will also visit the prestigious military institute and the military academy of Turkmenistan.
"The visit to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan is yet another outreach initiative to engage with our extended neighbourhood and strengthen the existing defence cooperation with the two nations," the Army said in a statement.
Gen. Rawat will be the first Indian Army chief to visit Turkmenistan, it said.
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