PUNE: General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), is on a two-day visit to Pune from March 26 to 27, 2019. 

On Tuesday, the COAS was briefed on the operational preparedness of Southern Command by Lieutenant General SK Saini, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command.

General Rawat is also the chief guest for the validation exercise and closing ceremony of the Africa - India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX-19) culminating on March 27 at Aundh Military Station. 

Other senior army officers, officials from the participating nations including the Defence Attaches will be present during the closing ceremony.

General Rawat will interact with the contingents of the participating nations from Africa and India as well as the Defence Attaches of the these countries during the closing ceremony of the training exercise.