New Delhi: India and Germany are set to sign a defence industrial cooperation roadmap and explore opportunities for joint development and production of weapon systems during defence minister Rajnath Singh's three-day visit to the European nation.
Singh is undertaking an official visit to Germany from April 21 to 23 and is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius and other senior leaders of the government. This will be the first visit by an Indian defence minister to Germany in seven years and comes at a time when India is looking to collaborate closely with European partners for defence technology.
"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," officials said.
They added that a defence industrial cooperation roadmap and implementing arrangement for cooperation in UN Peacekeeping Operations Training are likely to be signed in the presence of defence ministers.
As reported by ET, the visit will include talks on industry collaboration as well as a special defence investor summit that is likely to be attended by top military manufacturers of both nations. A special India-Germany defence investor summit has been planned at Munich that aims to engage with leading German defence industry stakeholders to explore avenues for collaboration, investment and partnerships.
The two nations have been expanding bilateral cooperation, including in defence technology sharing. India is on the verge of signing a $10 billion deal for new conventional submarines, for which German firm TKMS is the technology partner. The six submarines being acquired will be equipped with air independent propulsion that enables them to stay underwater for weeks.
An intergovernmental agreement that will be the overarching arrangement for the mega contract has already been finalised between the two countries and the formal signing is expected to take place shortly. The submarines are to be manufactured by Mazagaon Dockyards Limited, with indigenous content of over 50%.
Indian companies are also interested in offering their products for the German armed forces and other European forces, hoping to get orders as defence spending is ballooning across the continent. Some companies are looking to acquire stakes in German firms to get technology that can be used to make defence systems at scale in India.
Singh is undertaking an official visit to Germany from April 21 to 23 and is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius and other senior leaders of the government. This will be the first visit by an Indian defence minister to Germany in seven years and comes at a time when India is looking to collaborate closely with European partners for defence technology.
"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," officials said.
They added that a defence industrial cooperation roadmap and implementing arrangement for cooperation in UN Peacekeeping Operations Training are likely to be signed in the presence of defence ministers.
As reported by ET, the visit will include talks on industry collaboration as well as a special defence investor summit that is likely to be attended by top military manufacturers of both nations. A special India-Germany defence investor summit has been planned at Munich that aims to engage with leading German defence industry stakeholders to explore avenues for collaboration, investment and partnerships.
The two nations have been expanding bilateral cooperation, including in defence technology sharing. India is on the verge of signing a $10 billion deal for new conventional submarines, for which German firm TKMS is the technology partner. The six submarines being acquired will be equipped with air independent propulsion that enables them to stay underwater for weeks.
An intergovernmental agreement that will be the overarching arrangement for the mega contract has already been finalised between the two countries and the formal signing is expected to take place shortly. The submarines are to be manufactured by Mazagaon Dockyards Limited, with indigenous content of over 50%.
Indian companies are also interested in offering their products for the German armed forces and other European forces, hoping to get orders as defence spending is ballooning across the continent. Some companies are looking to acquire stakes in German firms to get technology that can be used to make defence systems at scale in India.
