BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– Bilateral relations between India and Eswatini continue maturing.
Eswatini is currently partaking in this year’s Africa-India nine-day military exercise which commenced yesterday.
India and 23 African nations yesterday began a nine-day mega military exercise in Pune with a greater aim to expand their overall military cooperation.
A number of new generation equipment manufactured in India is being used at the exercise to give a feel of their efficacy to the troops of the participating nations.
The African countries which are participating in the Africa-India Field Training Exercise (AFINTEX) include Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Seychelles, Senegal, Sudan, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
According to reports from reputable international publications, the exercise was joined by army officials from the listed countries.
The joint exercise has been hosted by the Indian Army in keeping with India’s outreach to Africa.
“The military cooperation and engagement between the participating member nations are vital for refining the interoperability and operational preparedness for UN peacekeeping operations,” said an army official, according to the publications.
The objectives of the exercise are to continue to build upon the initiatives taken to strengthen India-Africa relations, with a focus on enhancing peace and security, said the official.
He said the joint exercise will bring out practical aspects of the theme-based training and aim to enable the participants to comprehend and put into practice the validated drills and procedures through situation-based discussions and tactical exercise.
Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande will also host an ‘India-Africa Chiefs Conclave’ on March 28, a day before the military exercise comes to an end.
When contacted for comment, an official from the Indian High Commissioner to Eswatini confirmed the exercise, however, referring this reporter to the Umbuso Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF).
Effort to get comment from the UEDF proved to be futile by the time this article was being compiled.
Last year, we published that the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Defence and Security His Royal Highness Prince Sicalo held bilateral meetings with India officials.
This was in India at the Defence Expo (DEFEXPO) 2022.
The Prince held a meeting with India’s Minister of State in Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Tourism in Second Modi Ministry Ajay Bhatt and this was shared by the India Minister on Twitter.
When sought for comment, Prince Sicalo said they had been well received by the Republic of India and had very successful bilateral meetings with the officials of the Ministry of Defence in the country.
“As the Ministry of National Defence and Security, we look forward to continuing in growing the relations between the two states on Defence Corporations as India has opened its hands to welcome the African countries to share its advanced technologies manufactured in various sectors of its Defence Industries.
“We are very pleased to see that there are 1 300 local companies that the Government of Eswatini is working with on the manufacturing of military hardware and softer capabilities. We are also encouraged to hear of how the youth has taken part in these companies,” said the Lizinyane.
He also said the sharing of ideas was key in seeing how the Kingdom of Eswatini would also progress in the Defence industries. “Such programs help in the long run as you find that the spending of Defence budget abroad reduces significantly and local empowerment is achieved. In that way, local companies local companies are supported and become in partnership with the country Defence system,” said the Prince.
