• The eighth edition of India-Kazakhstan joint military exercise KAZIND-2024 commenced at Surya Foreign Training Node, Auli in Uttarakhand on September 30.

• The exercise, which has been held annually since 2016, will conclude on October 13. 

• The previous edition of this exercise was held at Otar, Kazakhstan in 2023.

• The Indian Armed Forces, comprising 120 personnel, are being represented by a battalion of the Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army, along with other arms and services, as well as personnel from the Indian Air Force.

• The Kazakhstan contingent is being represented mainly by personnel from Land Forces and Air Borne Assault Troopers.

• The aim of the joint exercise is to enhance joint military capability of both sides to undertake counter-terrorism operations in a sub-conventional scenario under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.

• The exercise will focus on operations in semi-urban and mountainous terrain. Objectives to be achieved from the joint exercise are high degree of physical fitness, rehearsing and refining drills for operations at tactical level and sharing of best practices.

India-Kazakhstan relations

• India was one of the first countries to recognise the independence of Kazakhstan, which was on December 16, 1991. Diplomatic relations were established in February 1992. 

• India and Kazakhstan have been strategic partners since 2009.

• Both countries actively cooperate under the aegis of multilateral fora including CICA (Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia), Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the UN organisations. India has been a consistent supporter of Kazakhstan’s initiative on CICA and is actively participating in the process. 

• The India-Kazakhstan Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) established in 1993 is the apex bilateral institutional mechanism for developing trade, economic, scientific, technological, industrial and cultural cooperation between the two countries. 

• Several Joint Working Groups (JWGs) have been established in areas including counter-terrorism, trade & economic cooperation, defence & military technical cooperation, information technology, hydrocarbons and textiles.

• The Indo-Kazakh Defence Cooperation is carried out under the framework of an agreement on ‘Defence and Military Technical cooperation’ signed in July 2015. The agreement includes various areas including conduct of joint training, exercises, military-technical cooperation and UN peacekeeping.

• The India-Kazakhstan Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) established in 1993 is the apex bilateral institutional mechanism for developing trade, economic, scientific, technological, industrial and cultural cooperation between the two countries. 

• Kazakhstan is India’s largest trade and investment partner in Central Asia. As per statistics of Kazakhstan for 2023, total bilateral trade between India and Kazakhstan amounted to $1 billion, out of which Indian exports amounted to $580.6 million and Indian imports from Kazakhstan touched $449.2 million.

• Kazakhstan was one of the first countries with which India launched civil nuclear cooperation through a uranium purchase contract. 

• India provides capacity building assistance to Kazakhstan in various specialised fields under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme sponsored by the ministry of external affairs.

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