The two-week-long exercise, scheduled from January 2 to January 15, will be conducted in the arid terrains of Rajasthan.

The inaugural edition of joint military exercise "Desert Cyclone 2024" will kick off on January 2, marking a significant milestone in the strategic partnership between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two-week-long exercise, scheduled from January 2 to January 15, will be conducted in the arid terrains of Rajasthan, with a primary focus on enhancing interoperability and sharing best practices in Urban Operations, according to the Indian Army.

The expansive Thar Desert in Rajasthan will serve as the backdrop for the rigorous training exercises.

“The Inaugural edition of Joint Military Exercise #DesertCyclone, between #India & #UAE, will be conducted from 02 Jan to 15 Jan 2024 in #Rajasthan. The exercise aims to enhance interoperability by learning & sharing best practices in Urban Operations,” Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) of Indian Army said in a social media post.

Joint military exercises with friendly countries result in constructive engagements in operational terms and enhance the skills of armed forces in diverse areas of war-fighting by operating with armed forces of various nations. In this process, current tactical and technological practices, techniques, and strategies are exchanged, contributing to the continuous improvement and modernization of military operations.

Earlier this year, two ships of the Indian Navy, INS Visakhapatnam, and INS Trikand under the command of Rear Admiral Vineet McCarty, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF) participated in bilateral exercise ‘Zayed Talwar’ with the UAE to enhance interoperability and synergy between the two navies.

India and the UAE established diplomatic relations in 1972 and UAE opened its Embassy in Delhi in 1972 whereas, India opened its Embassy in Abu Dhabi in 1973, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

Bilateral defence interaction between India and UAE has been steadily growing in accordance with other aspects of the bilateral relationship. There have been regular high-level & functional level exchanges between the two countries. The ships of the navies of both countries have regularly made port calls to enhance bilateral defence cooperation.