Defence Minister Rajnath and French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu held the fifth annual defence dialogue in Paris late on October 11 during which the two leaders reviewed the ongoing defence projects and discussed ways to deepen collaboration between the defence industries of both the countries, the Defence Ministry said.
“The two Ministers discussed a wide range of topics from the assessment of regional situation to the ongoing military-to-military engagements, with a focus on enhancing defence industrial cooperation,” the Ministry said in a statement on October 12. “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 French engine maker Safran engine Division’s R&D centre at Gennevilliers near Paris and witnessed the latest developments in aero-engine technology, the statement said. “Safran expressed interest in being a part of the Indian growth story by working with its counterparts on mutually agreed joint projects.”
He also met with the CEOs of the top French defence companies with a focus on their plans for collaboration with India where he highlighted the advantages of co-development and co-production in India, including possibilities of exports to third countries, the Ministry stated. “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 was on a four-day visit to Italy and France. Upon his arrival in Paris on October 10, he interacted with the Indian community there.
In the first leg of his two-nation tour, Mr. Rajnath Singh held talks with Italian Defence Minister Mr 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 military field, maritime domain awareness, sharing of defence information and industrial cooperation, including co-development, co-production & setting up of joint ventures. He also met with the CEOs and other top industry leaders of Italian defence companies in Rome, as part of his visit.
