India, Thailand to kick off military exercise this August

New Delhi [India], June 7 (ANI): In the series of joint bilateral exercises between India and Thailand, both nations have once again come together to foster the spirit of friendship and enhance the strategic military relationship to the next level.
The joint exercise code-named "MAITREE-2018" is scheduled to take place in Mueang, Chachoengsao Province, Thailand between the forces of Indian Army and Royal Thai Army in August.
This 14 days exercise aims to build and promote closer relations between both nations and to enhance the ability of Royal Thai Army and Indian Army to undertake joint tactical level operations on the handling of insurgency and related issues in the urban/rural scenario.
Representatives from both armies carried out an exercise planning for upcoming joint exercise.
A joint protocol highlighting various aspects of conduct was signed by representatives of Indian Army and Royal Thai Army in Chachoengsao, Thailand.
Ex-Maitree series of bilateral exercises has been one of the major defence cooperation initiatives between India and Thailand. It is an annual reciprocal training event. The previous exercise was held at Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh in 2017.
Thailand and India have been cooperating in various multilateral fora like ASEAN, ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), East Asia Summit, BIMSTEC. In addition, India is a member of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) initiated by Thailand in 2002 and of the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC). (ANI)