New Delhi, June 2: India and Israel finalised a vision statement on Thursday to further step up their overall defence cooperation, especially in the co-production of key military equipment and joint research and development of futuristic technologies for the armed forces.
The decision to further broad-base the already close bilateral defence ties was taken during wide-ranging talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his visiting Israeli counterpart Benjamin Gantz.
A “letter of intent” on enhancing cooperation in the field of futuristic defence technologies was also exchanged between Singh and Gantz, the defence ministry said.
The Israeli defence minister called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. “We have a great opportunity to deepen defence cooperation between our countries and to build on our shared values in order to contribute to global stability,” an Israeli statement quoted Gantz as saying during his meeting with Modi.
“India is an industrial superpower and Israel is a technological superpower. Cooperation between our countries will expand the capabilities of both countries to contend with developing challenges,” the Israeli defence minister said.
The defence ministry said both the ministers “acknowledged mutual security challenges and their convergences on a number of strategic and defence issues”.
It said they expressed their commitment to working 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 ministry said in a statement. It said a wide range of issues concerning bilateral, regional and defence industrial cooperation were discussed at the meeting.
It is learnt that the Ukraine crisis and the situation in the Gulf region also figured at the meeting.
The Israeli embassy said, “The ministers discussed partnerships within the government-to-government framework, military training and technological cooperation with a focus on UAVs and defensive capabilities.” “India and Israel share similar and common challenges, including border security and fighting terrorism. By working together, we may increase our capabilities and ensure the security and economic interests of both countries,” Gantz said, according to the embassy. It said the discussions covered topics such as strategic global challenges, military cooperation, defence industrial cooperation and joint research and development.
“They also discussed a cooperation agreement signed between the Indian DRDO and Israel’s Directorate for Defense R and D, which will enable the expansion of technological collaboration and development between the countries,” the embassy said. (PTI)
