New Delhi ((NVI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called for isolating all nations that have adopted terrorism as their state policy and affected the world in one way or the other.
“Terrorism is a global menace and all nations are affected by it in some form of the other. There are many instances wherein certain countries have utilised terror as an instrument of state policy. There is need for all countries to condemn such actions and isolate them,” Rajnath Singh said while speaking at the ‘Curtain Raiser’ of the first-ever India-Uzbekistan Joint Exercise ‘Dustlik 2019’ at Tashkent in Uzbekistan on November 3.
Describing ‘Dustlik 2019’ as an example of the growing defence collaboration between India and Uzbekistan, Rajnath Singh expressed confidence that the soldiers of the two countries will stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the time of need, an official statement said.
Defence Minister of Uzbekistan Major General Bakhodir Nizamovich Kurbanov was also present on the occasion.
He termed defence cooperation between the two countries as ‘crucial’ to the overall bilateral relations that have witnessed tremendous growth in the last few years.
He assured the Government of Uzbekistan that Indian Armed Forces will provide all possible assistance to their Uzbek counterparts for their modernisation and capacity building.
He also affirmed India’s commitment of developing a state-of-the-art IT complex in Armed Forces Academy of Uzbekistan for the benefit of their soldiers.
“We will send a team of expert IT professionals and English language instructors to share their expertise with the students of knowledge academy,” he added.
Identifying ‘Military Technical Cooperation’ as an area of huge potential, the Defence Minister said India is always ready to share its accomplishments and achievements with Uzbekistan in this field and expressed confidence that both countries will benefit from this cooperation.
He expressed hope that ‘Dustlik 2019’ will be a grand success and the armies of both countries will demonstrate the highest degree of professionalism during the exercise. He invited the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan for the Joint Exercises in 2020 in India.
