Today in the village of Nizhny Arkhyz, Karachay-Cherkess Republic (KChR), a solemn ceremony of opening the joint Russian-Pakistani exercise “Friendship-2017” was held.
More than 200 servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan took part in the event. The opening ceremony of the exercises began with the raising of state flags and the playing of the national anthems of Russia and Pakistan.
Colonel Sergey Dmitriev, commander of the motorized rifle brigade of the Southern Military District (SE), and Brigadier General Sayed Alamdar Hussain Shah from the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (IRP) addressed the participants of the exercise.
“The” Friendship-2017 “doctrine is of great importance for us. The military training event is aimed at sharing the professional experience of servicemen, as well as strengthening military cooperation between the mountain units of Russia and Pakistan, ” Brigadier Hussain said.
After the solemn part, Colonel Sergey Dmitriev shook hands with every serviceman of the mountain unit of the armed forces of the IRP, in turn, Saeed Alamdar Hussain Shah also greeted the servicemen of the South-Eastern Military District. During the opening ceremony of the exercise, servicemen of the South Ossetia conducted demonstrative performances in hand-to-hand combat and carried out a tactical reception “removal of the sentry” using imitation shooting and smoke.
The ceremonial events were completed by the concert program of the creative teams of the Culture Palace of the Zelenchuksky district of Karachaevo-Cherkessia. Joint military exercises will be held at an altitude of up to 2.3 thousand meters above sea level in the highlands of the Caucasian Range.
During the exercises, servicemen of the two countries will work out cooperation in carrying out combat training tasks in the framework of conducting conditional combat operations in mountainous conditions, in particular, in the destruction of conventional illegal armed formations, and will work out questions of conducting reconnaissance, prospecting and reconnaissance-ambush operations in mountain-woodlands. The “Friendship-2017” military exercise will last until October 4 this year.