The two ministers also exchanged a Letter of Intent on enhancing cooperation in the field of futuristic defence technologies.
New Delhi:In bilateral talks with one of India’s more significant defence partners, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held discussions with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Gantz in Delhi on Thursday. The two sides adopted the India-Israel Vision on Defence Cooperation with the “intention to further strengthen the existing framework of the Indo-Israeli defence cooperation architecture,” a defence ministry statement said.
The two ministers also exchanged a Letter of Intent on enhancing cooperation in the field of futuristic defence technologies.
Gantz, who is on his first visit to India in his official capacity, is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and other senior government officials as well.
“A wide range of issues concerning bilateral, regional and defence industrial cooperation were discussed during the meeting. The two ministers reviewed the existing military-to-military activities which have increased” despite the Covid-19 challenges and “discussed ways to increase cooperation in all domains with a focus on Research and Development in future technologies and defence co-production,” the ministry said.
ingh and Gantz acknowledged mutual security challenges and their convergences on a number of strategic and defence issues, and expressed their commitment to work together to enhance cooperation in all forums.
Gantz is visiting with an “aim to strengthen the defence ties between the two countries,” the ministry said, adding that “defence cooperation has been one of the significant pillars of the bilateral cooperation.”
Gantz’s office said in a statement that both India and Israel “reiterated their commitment to deepening and expanding defence cooperation by presenting a vision for future collaboration, outlined in a joint declaration.”
The discussions between the two leaders “covered topics including strategic global challenges, military cooperation, defence industrial cooperation and joint R&D” and a cooperation agreement signed between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel’s Directorate for Defense R&D, “which will enable the expansion of technological collaboration and development between the countries.”
The Israeli statement said that the ministers “declared their intention to further develop defence cooperation between the countries in a manner that harnesses Israel’s technological advance and operational experience, together with India’s extraordinary development and production capabilities.”
“Lastly, the ministers discussed partnerships within the government-to-government framework, military training, and technological cooperation with a focus on UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and defensive capabilities,” the statement said.
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