Exercise LAMITIYE’, will be conducted at Mahe, Seychelles from March 22 to March 31

The ninth joint military exercise LAMITIYE-2022 between the Indian Army and Seychelles Defence Forces will commence from Tuesday. It will continue till March 31 at the Seychelles Defence Academy (SDA), the Ministry of Defence said on Monday.

The exercise is named “Lamitye” which in the local dialect ‘Creole’, means friendship.

This exercise is the ninth in the series of bilateral exercises being conducted in the island nation.

India and Seychelles have been conducting this joint exercise since 2001 to enhance military cooperation and interoperability between the armies of the two countries while carrying out counter-terrorism, anti-piracy and anti-narcotic operations to include anti-hostage operations on land and at sea.

According to the Defence Ministry, the exercise will provide an opportunity for both sides for sharing experiences and learning from each other.

An Infantry Platoon strength each from both the Indian Army and Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) along with Company Headquarters will be participating in this exercise which is aimed at sharing experiences gained during various operations against hostile forces in Semi-Urban environment and enhance capability to undertake joint operations.

The joint training/exercise will see the active participation of local Special Forces, Coast Guard and Air Force, informed the Ministry of Defence.
The Indian army contingent from the 2/3 Gorkha Rifles arrived at Seychelles on 21 March, 2022.

In the series of military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries, Exercise LAMITIYE with Seychelles is crucial and significant in terms of security challenges faced by both the nations in the backdrop of the current global turmoil and growing security concerns in the Indian Ocean Region, the ministry pointed out.

The exercise will see the contingents hone their tactical and technical skills in countering insurgency and terrorism in UN peacekeeping scenario involving the activation of the joint operations centre of the Seychelles People’s Defence Force.

The 10 days long biennial training event will include field training exercises, combat discussions, lectures, demonstrations and culminate with a two days validation exercise.

Both armies will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well-developed tactical drills for neutralization of likely threats that may be encountered in Semi Urban environment, while exploiting and showcasing new generation equipment and technology for conducting joint operations.

Major Abhishek Nepal Singh, Company Commander of Indian Army contingent said, “The biennial exercise, which has largely contributed to strengthen bilateral military cooperation & interoperability between both armies, is an outbound exercise being held in Seychelles. We look forward to share practical aspects to comprehend and put in practice the validated drills, procedures as well as amalgamation of new technology in sub-conventional operations through numerous situation based discussions and tactical exercises”.