Indian Army personnel to take part in Exercise ZAPAD 2021 in Russia :
• A contingent of 200 Army personnel will participate in the multinational military Exercise ZAPAD 2021 being held at Nizhniy, Russia.
• It is a multinational military exercise. 17 countries were invited for the exercise, there are 9 participating countries and 8 Observers including China and Pakistan.
• The exercise aims to enhance military and strategic ties amongst the participating nations while they plan and execute this exercise.
• ZAPAD 2021 is a 13-day exercise and will end on 16 September. It is mainly aimed at boosting anti-terror cooperation.
• ZAPAD 2021 is one of the theatre-level exercises of Russian armed forces and will focus primarily on operations against terrorists.
• The 9 Participating countries are Mongolia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Russia, India, and Belarus.
• The 8 Observer countries are Pakistan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, and Sri Lanka.
KAZIN-21 :
• KAZIND-21 is a joint military Exercise between Kazakhstan and India.
• It is the fifth edition of the annual bilateral exercise by both armies.
• The fourth edition of the exercise was held at Pithoragarh in September 2019.
• The scope of the exercise includes professional exchange, planning and execution of operations in a counter-terrorism environment, and sharing of expertise.
• The exercise will strengthen mutual confidence, interoperability and enable sharing of best practices between the Armed Forces of India and Kazakhstan.
• The joint exercise also reflects the strong resolve of both nations to counter-terrorism and will to stand shoulder to shoulder to combat the same.
About Kazakhstan :
• Kazakhstan shares borders with 5 countries. They are Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan.
• Nur-Sultan is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
• India was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Kazakhstan. Diplomatic relations were established in February 1992.
• India and Kazakhstan have been strategic partners since 2009.
• Kazakhstan is the most resource-rich country in Central Asia and is also India’s largest trade and investment partner.
• India and Kazakhstan actively cooperate under the aegis of various multilateral fora including Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Shanghai Cooperation Operation (SCO), and the United Nations (UN) organizations.
• There are three factors that make Kazakhstan important for India. First, its geostrategic location; Second, its economic potential, especially in terms of energy resources; and Third, its multi-ethnic and secular structure.
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