India-Botswana joint military exercise begins Sunday

NEW DELHI - A 15-member delegation of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) will be in India from Oct 2 to participate in a joint logistics exercise with the Indian Army.

The BDF delegation, led by their Chief of Staff Logistic Brigadier George Modirwa Tlhalerws, will travel to Dehradun for the Oct 3-9 exercise.

Besides being engaged in aspects related to the exercise, the visitors will be given an exposure to premier institutions such as Indian Military Academy (IMA) and Forest Research Institute (FRI), a defence spokesperson said.

India and Botswana have long enjoyed close defence ties having had a well-established training team located in the country to facilitate training of personnel of the BDF.

Based on a specific request by the BDF, during an earlier visit by Chief of Army Staff to Botswana, the Indian Army is presently engaged in putting in place arrangements for the envisaged exercise. Titled Ex Milap, the proposed exercise will aim to give an exposure, to personnel of the BDF, on a wide spectrum of issues related to logistics support for a fighting force, the spokesperson said.