In talk with Israeli counterpart, Defence Minister Singh highlights India’s indigenous defence manufacturing

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has invited Israeli industries to deepen their investments in India’s defence manufacturing sector.

In a telephonic conversation with Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday, Defence Minister Singh underlined the government’s priority for indigenisation and domestic manufacturing of defence equipment under ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

This was the first call between the two since Gallant assumed office.

According to India’s Ministry of Defence, Singh acknowledged the cooperation of Israeli industries towards nurturing a vibrant & world class defence manufacturing ecosystem in India. He invited Israeli Industries to deepen their investments in Joint Ventures with Indian companies with an aim to identify areas for collaboration, particularly in niche technologies.

In this context, he expressed pleasure at the signing of some important agreements between Indian and Israeli companies during the recently concluded Aero India 2023.

The Defence Minister of Israel highlighted the positive role played by India in the region and conveyed his Government’s keen interest in enhancing the strategic partnership between the two countries. Both Ministers affirmed their commitment to further deepening of bilateral defence relationship under the framework of ‘Vision Statement’ adopted last year, the Ministry of Defence said.

“Was happy to speak with the Defence Minister of Israel, Major General Yoav Gallant. India attaches tremendous importance to its relations with Israel. Looking forward to work closely with him towards strengthening the defence cooperation between both the countries,” Defence Minister Singh said on Twitter.

Defence cooperation continues to be one of the significant pillars of bilateral cooperation between India and Israel as the two nations observe the 31st anniversary of their diplomatic relations. India has sourced critical defence technologies from Israel over the past few decades.

At the same time, there are regular high-level exchanges between the armed forces of the two nations. A Joint Working Group (JWG) at the level of Defence Secretary level reviews progress on defence cooperation. Additionally, there is strong cooperation on security issues, including through a Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism.