First BIMSTEC military exercise from today

The BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) member countries is set to conduct the first military exercise from today (Monday) at Pune in India focusing on counter-terrorism.
A conclave of the Army chiefs of all seven member-states will join the exercise. The initial planning conference to work out the modalities is scheduled to be held at the meeting, according to the BIMSTEC secretariat.
The theme includes counter-terrorism in semi-urban terrain and cordon and search and each side will bring in some 30 soldiers.

BIMSTEC was set up in 1997 and includes India, Bangladesh, Bhutan Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand to enhance more cooperation and connectivity with its member countries. Indian Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhambre is to attend the validation exercise, along with the service chiefs of the seven nations, on September 16, according to the Indian media report. "In addition, an inaugural 'Chief's Conclave' is also being organised at the College of Military Engineering on September 15 under the aegis of the Southern Command. Former Indian diplomat G. Parthasarthy will be its moderator," said Lt. Gen. Soni,  chief of the Southern Command,  the media report said.

"The aim of the exercise, the media report quoting a  defence source said, is to promote strategic alignment among the member-states and to share best practices in the area of counter-terrorism." The conclave of Army chiefs is scheduled on the last two days of the exercise. The chiefs will debate the challenge of terrorism and transnational crime, which is a major concern among all the states and on how they can promote collective cooperation, the source said.