Kathmandu, Dec. 16: The 16th India-Nepal Joint Military Exercise ‘SURYA KIRAN’ commenced on Friday at Nepal Army Battle School, Saljhandi. The exercise commenced with unfurling of the National Flags and both armies marching in harmony on the India and Nepal military tunes. During the two weeks arduous exercise, an Infantry Battalion each from the Indian Army and the Nepali Army will be training together to enhance inter-operability and share experience on Counter Insurgency and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations. A Gorkha battalion from the elite Gorkha regiments of the Indian Army is participating in the exercise. 

 During the exercise, both the armies will familarise themselves with each other’s weapons, equipment, tactics and procedures while operating in Counter Insurgency environment especially in mountainous terrain. To further enhance the scope and scale of exercise, the contingents will be exposed to scenarios dealing with Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, High Altitude Warfare and Jungle Warfare operations. The Joint Military Training will culminate on 29 Dec 2022 with a grueling 48 hours validation exercise to validate performance of both the armies in Counter Insurgency environment.

 Ex Surya Kiran will go a long way in improving bilateral relations and mutual cooperation between both the armies and further strengthening the unique, traditional and time tested friendship between India and Nepal. Suryakiran series of exercises also stands testimony to strong Indo-Nepal relations which are vast and varied, and unlikely to be found anywhere in the world.