India and Sri Lanka will start a 12-day long joint military exercise from Monday, with a focus on increasing counter-terrorism cooperation. According to the Ministry of Defense, the 8th edition of the exercise ‘Mitra Shakti’ will be conducted from October 4 to October 15 at the Combat Training School in Ampara, Sri Lanka.

“The objective of this exercise is to enhance close ties and inter-operability between the armies of the two countries and to share best practices in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations,” the ministry said.

The ministry said that an armed contingent of 120 soldiers of the Indian Army will participate in this exercise. “The exercise will involve a strategic level operation at the sub-unit level in an international counter-terrorism and counter-terrorism environment,” it said in a statement.