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Delhi. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has stressed the importance of joint development and manufacturing of defense technology and equipment between India and Germany. Singh, who is on a three-day visit to Germany, said his government’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” campaign is an invitation for co-creation, co-development and co-innovation. The Defense Minister, who reached Berlin via Munich, on Tuesday addressed the German parliamentarians and strongly advocated for increasing cooperation between the defense industrial ecosystems of the two countries.

Addressing the German Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defense and Security on the first day of the visit, he said that today the world is facing new security threats and technological change has made the situation extremely complex. He said that there is a need for a new approach with readiness to adapt to the changing environment.

The Defense Minister said that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is witnessing unprecedented transformation in the defense sector and enhancing partnership with German industry can provide significant benefits to both the countries. Singh said, “We recognize the established capabilities of Germany’s leading industrial enterprises and appreciate the enthusiasm and dynamism of German Mittelstand (small and medium-sized companies) renowned in advanced and emerging technologies.

In India too, our start-ups and entrepreneurial private companies are rapidly enhancing and complementing the capabilities of our large and established defense enterprises. This is an area where India and Germany naturally complement each other and our partnership can deepen further.” To deal with modern global challenges, Mr Singh stressed the need for coordinated responses and trusted strategic partnerships. He said Modi and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have placed special emphasis on taking the bilateral strategic partnership forward.

There is a clear convergence of views at the EU level as well and this is reflected in its growing engagement with India, including the India-EU Defense and Strategic Partnership. The Defense Minister reiterated that India and Germany are not only strategic partners but also play an important role in shaping the global discourse of the present times.

He said, “We are established democracies bound by shared values, and dynamic economies driven by resilience, innovation and strong industrial spirit. Your guidance, opinion and support as Parliamentarians and respected members of the Committee can further strengthen and enrich the future of our defense and strategic cooperation.” Singh said the current geopolitical instability can no longer be considered a regional matter. He said that its consequences are at the global level.

He said that this is not a local unrest, but a serious development with far-reaching implications for energy security, food security and global economic stability. Also, the human loss caused by this cannot be ignored. He said, “For a developing country like India, which is dependent on the West Asian region for a significant part of its energy requirements, disruption in the Strait of Hormuz is not a distant event, but a bitter reality that has a direct impact on our security and economic stability.”

The Defense Minister told the German MPs that the Group of Ministers formed on West Asia is constantly assessing the changing situation and suggesting timely measures to reduce its impact. “The main objective of our discussions, which brought together key ministries, was to secure energy supply, maintain availability of essential commodities, control inflationary pressures and protect citizens as well as industries from external disruptions. This reflects India’s ability to respond to global crises with calmness, foresight and effective institutional coordination,” he said.

German MP and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee, Thomas Rovekamp, ​​welcomed Mr Singh at the meeting. Earlier, the Defense Minister paid floral tributes to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore at the Humboldt University campus upon his arrival in Berlin. On arrival the Defense Minister was welcomed with military honors at the Berlin airport. During his journey from Munich to Berlin he was transported in a special plane of the German Air Force, protected by fighter planes.

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