Aizawl, Apr 19 (IANS): Indian Army personnel will now learn Chinese language at the Tezpur University in Assam for which an MoU was signed on Wednesday, defence sources said.

Defence spokesman Lt. Col. Mahendra Rawat said that a course in Chinese language will improve the in-house Mandarin expertise and empower the army personnel to engage with their Chinese counterparts as and when the situation demands.

He said that with improved Chinese language skills, the armymen will be better positioned to convey their points in a much more cogent manner.

It will also help in better exchange of viewpoints and understanding of the Chinese People Liberation Army's (PLA) version of their activities during various interactions, including commander-level talks, flag meetings, joint exercises and border personnel meetings.

Rawat said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army and Tezpur University on Wednesday for training the Indian Army personnel in Chinese language. The course will be for a duration of 16 weeks.

Tezpur University was established in 1994 by an act of Parliament as a central university. It is one the pioneers in the northeastern region in teaching foreign languages, including Chinese.