INTERIM PLANNING CONFERENCE FOR BIMSTEC) MILITARY EXERCISE – 18
Pune – Interim planning conference for the Military Exercise being conducted as part of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Nations was held at HQ Southern Command, Pune on 19 June 18. Armies of seven countries i.e. India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand and Myanmar will be participating in the BIMSTEC Military Exercise (MILEX) – 18 being conducted from 10 September to 16 September 2018 at the Foreign Training Node, Aundh, Pune. The aim of the Exercise is to create synergy, better understanding and evolve an institutionalised military forum for regional cooperation in the field of Counter Terrorist Operations among the member states. Each member state is being represented by five Officers and 25 Other Ranks for the Military Exercise -18.
The exercise will culminate with a Chiefs’ Conclave scheduled on 15 and 16 September 2018, where the Chief of the Armies of the seven participating nations will get together to review this Multi-Nation Exercise. The aim of this conclave is to exchange ideas between the senior most army leadership of these regional nations in a “Symposia Setting” in order to enhance operational synergy. The specific agenda of the symposium will be to explore the “Possibilities of Creating a Viable Regional Security Architecture to Deal with Threats of Terrorism and Trans-National Crime”.