Dubai
Indian Chief of Army Staff Gen. MM Naravane on Friday met Commander of the UAE’s Land Forces and Staff Major General Saleh Mohammed Saleh Al Ameri.
Gen. Naravane is currently on a six-day tour of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, in a first-ever visit by a head of the Indian Army to the two strategically important Gulf countries.
The Indian COAS also interacted with Major General Saleh Mohammed Saleh Al Ameri, Commander LandForces and Staff and discussed issues of mutual interest and defence cooperation, the Indian Army’s Additional Directorate General of Public Information said in a tweet on Friday.
It said that Gen. Naravane also visited the Land Forces Institute, Infantry School and Armour School on Thursday. The Army chief’s visit to the UAE aims to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, it added. His visit is seen as a reflection of India’s growing strategic ties with the two countries and is expected to further open up new avenues for cooperation in the defence and security sphere.
Gen. Naravane’s visit comes in the midst of fast-paced developments in the Gulf region including normalisation of Israel’s relations with several Arab countries as well as situation arising out of the assassination of Iran’s top nuclear weapons scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.—PTI
