Members of the Royal Armed Forces are participating alongside elements from 22 other African nation’s armed forces in the second edition of the Africa-India Field Training Exercise AFINDEX-2023 at the Aundh military camp in Maharashtra, India.
The objective of these joint exercises is focused on humanitarian action against landmines and peacekeeping operations.
A total of 100 soldiers from the following countries are taking part in the operations: Morocco, Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Seychelles, Senegal, Sudan, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
This joint military exercise is part of New Delhi’s influence offensive in Africa. An initiative that originated in 2008 through the India-Africa Summit, followed by subsequent editions in 2015 and 2019. The official goal advanced by India is to deepen and refine the interoperability and operational readiness of United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Four phases will be used to perform AFINDEX-2023. The Indian army will train the foreign troops first. A phase of humanitarian demining efforts and a phase of peacekeeping activities will come after this.
In the final phase, the troops will validate what they have learned during the exercise.
The highlight of this event is that India will use weapons of its manufacture that African armies will be called upon to familiarize themselves with their handling.