By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) - Kyrgyzstan hosted on Thursday the first joint military exercise of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Eleven countries took part in the Eurasia-Antiterror-2023 military drill -- Armenia, Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, according to the Kyrgyz National Security State Committee.
The maneuvers are part of the first conference of the CIS member states on combating terrorism and extremism, which started Sept. 20 in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek.
The heads of the delegations of the countries taking part in the drill noted that the exercise is an important step to strengthen the anti-terrorism potential of CIS and SCO countries.