SCO joint military exercise concludes in Russia; India, Pakistan participate for first time in anti-terror drills

New Delhi: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Peace Mission Exercise focused on anti-terror operations concluded on Wednesday after days of joint training amongst multinational forces of eight SCO nations.[caption id="attachment_5075521" align="alignleft" width="380"]

The SCO Peace Mission Exercise 2018 culminated on 29 August. Courtesy: Twitter/@adgpi[/caption]In the joint multinational exercise which began on 24 August, the SCO nations conducted training focused on combating terrorism. After intense military training, the joint exercise concluded with multinational forces exhibiting their combat power and dominance over the extremist groups in a simulated realistic situation.The closing ceremony was conducted at the drill ground of 255th Inter-Services Firing Ranges, Chebarkul, Russia. "In this fifth edition of SCO Peace Mission Exercise where India participated for the first time, the focus was on the conduct of counter-terrorist operations in a multinational joint service environment. The senior officials expressed great satisfaction with high standards achieved in the exercise," an official release said.The exercise provided an opportunity to armies of all nations for greater cultural understanding, sharing experiences and strengthening mutual trust and cooperation. Overall, SCO Peace Mission Exercise will contribute immensely in developing mutual understanding and respect amongst SCO member nations in future," it added.The SCO consists of India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its regular members.