Defence Minister Rajnath Singh impressed upon the CEOs of top French defence companies the advantages of co-development and co-production in defence equipment in India, including possibilities of exports to third countries.
At a meeting in Paris last evening, he underlined the inherent advantages of the Indian market such as a large, skilled HR base, world-class infrastructure and a strong legal architecture.
Mr Singh, who is in France on the second leg of his two-nation Europe tour, also conducted the 5th Annual Defence Dialogue with French Minister of Armed Forces Mr Sebastien Lecornu. The two ministers discussed a wide range of topics from the assessment of regional situations to the ongoing military-to-military engagements, with a focus on enhancing defence industrial cooperation.
The two ministers reviewed the ongoing defence projects and discussed ways to deepen the collaboration between the defence industries of both countries. They also discussed potential collaboration in niche domains such as space, cyber and Artificial Intelligence. The meeting was preceded by a Guard of Honour at the French Ministry of Defence.
Earlier in the day, Mr Singh visited the Safran Engine Division’s R&D Centre at Gennevilliers near Paris and witnessed the latest developments in aero-engine technology.
In the first leg of his two-nation tour, he held talks with Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto in Rome. An agreement on cooperation in the field of defence was signed after the talks to promote bilateral collaboration in varied defence domains, such as security and defence policy, R&D, education in the military field, maritime domain awareness, sharing of defence information and industrial cooperation, including co-development, co-production & setting up of joint ventures.