The two-week long eighth edition ofthe Indo-Maldives joint military exercise, 'Ekuverin', will be conducted from tomorrow at Belagavi, about 505 km from here.
The bilateral annual exercise is a 14-day jointmilitary training between the Indian Army and the MaldivesNational Defence Force (MNDF), which is held alternatively inIndia and Maldives since 2009.
'Ekuverin' means 'friends' in the Maldivian language.
The seventh edition of the exercise was held at Kadhdhoo, Lammu Atoll, Maldives in December, 2016.
The focus of the exercise is to acquaint both armies with each other's operating procedures in the backdrop of a counter-insurgency or counter-terrorist operations in an urbanor semi-urban environment under the United Nations (UN) Charter, with an overall aim to enhance interoperability between the two armies, an official release said.
It said the exercise will see the contingents hone their tactical and technical skills, and also provide an opportunity for the two armies to activate the Joint Operations Centre at Belagavi.
The MNDF will berepresented by a team comprising two officers and 43 otherranks, while the Indian Army by threeofficers, as many junior commissioned officers and 39 otherranks belonging to a Gorkha Rifles Battalion (Sirmoor Rifles).
Theopening ceremony of the exercise, scheduled for tomorrow, will witness a fly past by the Army Aviation team along with a march past by the contingent from both the countries in the presence of the pipe and drums band of the Gorkha Regiment.
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