Rajnath Singh Heads to Germany to Boost Defence Ties After 7-Year Gap

During the three-day visit, Singh is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, and other senior leaders of the government.

According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), discussions will focus on enhancing defence industrial collaboration, strengthening military-to-military engagements, and exploring opportunities in emerging domains such as cyber security, artificial intelligence, and drones.

A Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap and implementing arrangement for cooperation in UN Peacekeeping Operations Training are likely to be signed in the presence of both Defence Ministers.

The visit will provide an opportunity to review the ongoing defence cooperation initiatives and identify new avenues for collaboration between the defence industries of both countries. Rajnath Singh is also expected to interact with key representatives of the German defence industry, with a view to promoting joint development and co-production under the Make-in-India initiative.

This visit of Defence Minister, as per the MoD, comes after a gap of seven years. The last visit by an Indian Defence Minister to Germany was by Nirmala Sitharaman in February 2019.

Boris Pistorius had visited India in June 2023 and held extensive talks with Rajnath Singh.

India and Germany share a strong and multifaceted strategic partnership, anchored in democratic values, the rule of law, and a shared commitment to a rule-based international order. Defence and security cooperation has emerged as an important pillar of this partnership in recent years.

Further, as per MoD, the objective of the visit is to further deepen bilateral ties and contribute to regional & global peace, stability, and prosperity.

- ANI