Army Chief Gen Dwivedi holds talks with UAE's top commander

New Delhi, Jan 5 (PTI) Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi on Monday held wide-ranging talks with Commander of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Land Forces, Major General Yousef Maayouf Saeed Al Hallami, with a focus on expanding bilateral military cooperation.

Gen Dwivedi is on a two-day visit to the UAE in the first leg of his two-nation tour. He will travel to Sri Lanka after concluding his January 5 to 6 trip to the UAE.

The Army chief's visit to the UAE comes in the midst of fast-paced developments in the Gulf region including escalating tensions between the UAE and Saudi Arabia over the situation in Yemen.

The Army said the talks between Gen Dwivedi and Major General Al Hallami centred around ways to advance bilateral defence cooperation.

The discussions focused on enhancing positive military engagement, training convergence and advancing bilateral defence cooperation between India and the UAE, it said on social media.

Gen Dwivedi is also scheduled to visit key military establishments including the UAE National Defence College and interact with officers and troops.

The military cooperation between India and the UAE witnessed a significant momentum after the visit to that country by then Army Chief Gen M M Naravane in December 2020.

It was the first-ever visit to the UAE by a head of the Indian Army.

Gen Dwivedi's trip to the UAE is taking place weeks after the Gulf nation's Commander of the Presidential Guard, Major General Ali Saif Humaid Alkaabi, visited India. PTI MPB KVK KVK