Chief of the Army Staff, General Upendra Dwivedi, concluded a four-day official visit to Algeria on August 28, in what defence officials described as a landmark outreach to North Africa. It was his first overseas engagement since the successful completion of Operation Sindoor, underscoring the Army’s growing role in India’s wider diplomacy.
During his stay, General Dwivedi held talks with General Saïd Chanegriha, Chief of Staff of the People’s National Army, and Lieutenant General Mostefa Smaali, Commander of the Land Forces. Discussions focused on training exchanges, modernisation support, and defence-industrial cooperation, including new technologies such as anti-drone systems. Officials noted that Algeria’s large inventory of Soviet-origin equipment creates natural areas for collaboration with India, which has decades of experience in upgrading and sustaining similar platforms.
The visit also carried strong symbolic weight. At the Military Academy of Cherchell, Algeria’s premier institution for officer training, General Dwivedi praised the high standards of instruction and proposed exchange of best practices with Indian training institutions. He also toured the School of Command and General Staff at Tamentfoust, where Algeria trains its future commanders. And at the Maqam Echahid (Martyrs’ Memorial) in Algiers, he paid homage to Algeria’s war of independence, drawing parallels with India’s own anti-colonial struggle.
Beyond the ceremonies, the trip underlined a growing political convergence. Algeria’s recent condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir highlighted counter-terrorism as a shared priority. Both countries also affirmed common principles of sovereignty, non-alignment, and South–South cooperation — values that continue to shape their foreign and defence policies.
For New Delhi, Algeria is emerging as a pivotal partner in the Maghreb–Sahel–Mediterranean arc, with its energy resources, regional mediation record, and strong voice within the African Union. The Army Chief’s visit is expected to lay the foundation for a long-term partnership, linking officer training, counter-terrorism cooperation, and defence industry collaboration.
Officials stressed that the emphasis was not on contracts but on building trust, training links, and mutual support. In that sense, General Dwivedi’s tour was both a tribute to history and an investment in the future.
(Hailing from Kashmir and based in New Delhi, Mehak Farooq is a journalist specialising in defence and strategic affairs. Her work spans security, geopolitics, veterans’ welfare, foreign policy, and the evolving challenges of national and regional stability.)
