India and Sri Lankan armies to carry out two-week long joint military exercise from 13 October

New Delhi: The armies of India and Sri Lanka will hold a 13-day joint exercise in Pune beginning Friday with a focus on enhancing interoperability in counter-terror operations. [caption id=“attachment_3907241” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The ‘Mitra Shakti 2017’ will be the 5th edition of the joint excerise between the armies of the two countries. The exercise will take place in Pune from 13 October to 25 October, a senior defence ministry official said. The Mitra Shakti series of exercises has been one of key defence cooperation initiatvies between the two countries since 2013. The exercise is taking place at a time when the region faces evolving security dynamics. The 4th edition had taken place in Sri Lanka last year.