New Delhi, Nov 23 : As part of enhance engagement of the Indian Armed Forces with the militaries of the Indian Ocean region and other prominent military powers, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor today left for a week-long visit to South Africa and Botswana.

India and South Africa have seen enhanced military cooperation especially during the past decade including the fields of military training and procurement of military hardware.

The two countries have seen frequent exchanges of army delegations in the recent past. On his first leg of the visit, the Army Chief is scheduled to visit the South Africa Army Headquarters, army engineer formation, army war collage in Pretoria; air force base, a parachute regiment and the school of armour at Bloems Pruit; and the naval base in Cape Town.

General Kapoor will lay wreath at the South Africa War Memorial at Fort Klapper Kop. He is scheduled to hold wide-ranging discussions with the Chief of South Africa National Defence Forces (SANDF), General Godfrey Ngwenya.

On the next leg of visit, the Army Chief will be visiting various military establishments including the Indian Army''s Training Team (IATT) in Botswana.

General Kapoor is to hold discussions with Lieutenant General THC Masire, the Commander of Botswana Defence Forces (BDF). He is also expected to meet the Botswana Minister of Defence and the President.

Botswana and India have had a sustained history of military cooperation especially in the field of army training assistance, of which IATT is an example. A large numbers of senior Botswana military personnel including its leadership have been trained in various Indian military training institutions including the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Pune. (ANI)