The situation in some regions and in the Central Asia in particular, increasing levels of terrorist activity require the troops to be in constant combat readiness, the Uzbek Defense Minister Abdusalom Azizov said following the joint military exercises with Tajikistan, the Defense Ministry said.
Abdusalom Azizov reportedly underscored that the Uzbek-Tajik joint exercises demonstrated the readiness of the two neighboring states to repel the enemy at any moment and added that the drill was historic and the first in the history of the two countries.
"We have a common region, so only through friendly joint efforts, interaction of military units can we counter and defeat terrorism," he said.
The Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Mirzo said that the situation in the northern provinces of Afghanistan is of particular concern.
"There is increasing terrorist activity and concentration of militants of the so-called Islamic State. When the challenges and threats to national security and terrorist activity are of unprecedented scale, no single state can counter them alone. In this context, it is very important for the countries of the region to join forces," he said.
He highlighted that Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are the outpost of Central Asia, and the heads of the two states were doing everything possible to ensure peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Joint anti-terrorist exercises between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were held on September 18-22 at Chorukhdrayron training ground in Sughd province of Tajikistan, which involved over 600 military personnel and about 100 units of combat, special equipment and helicopters.
