Defence Minister Rajnath Singh holds talks with Israeli counterpart on defence co-production

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Gantz in New Delhi on Thursday.

"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 challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic. They discussed ways to increase cooperation in all domains with a focus on Research & Development in future technologies and defence co-production," said a statement from Defence Ministry.

The MoD said both the Ministers acknowledged mutual security challenges and their convergences on a number of strategic and defence issues. They expressed commitment to work together to enhance cooperation in all forums. With the intention to further strengthen the existing framework of the Indo-Israeli defence cooperation architecture, both sides adopted the India-Israel Vision on Defence Cooperation, the statement said.

A Letter of Intent on enhancing cooperation in the field of Futuristic Defence Technologies was also exchanged between the two Ministers.

Earlier in the day, the Defence Minister of Israel visited the National War Memorial and paid homage to the fallen heroes by laying a wreath at the monument. He was accorded a Ceremonial Guard of Honour before his bilateral meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The visiting dignitary reached New Delhi in the morning on an official visit to India. It was his first visit to India with an aim to strengthen the defence ties between the two countries.

Defence cooperation has been one of the significant pillars of bilateral cooperation. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the formation of the official diplomatic ties between India and Israel. (IANS)

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