New Delhi, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh visited Rome from April 14-15, during which he held “productive discussions” with Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto aimed at enhancing defence cooperation as a key pillar of the India-Italy strategic partnership.
Singh co-chaired the 11th India-Italy annual bilateral Joint Defence Committee meeting with his Italian counterpart, Secretary General of Defence Luisa Riccardi in Rome. The situation in the Red Sea and western Indian Ocean Region also came up during the discussions, the Indian Defence Ministry said in a statement.
“They discussed a wide range of defence, security and industrial cooperation issues including maritime cooperation and information sharing arrangements between India and Italy with emphasis on Trans Regional Maritime Network,” it said.
Singh visited Rome on an official trip and it started with the defence secretary calling on the Defence Minister of Italy.
“During the meeting, the two sides held productive discussions aimed at further enhancing defence cooperation as a key pillar of India-Italy strategic partnership,” the statement said.
The defence secretary was accompanied by a high-level delegation from the ministry, comprising senior officials from Service Headquarters, Department of Defence and Department of Defence Production, it said.
During his visit, the defence secretary stressed closer defence collaboration, especially in technology and armament production, which is a priority area for India.
He said the government of India is “proactively building an ecosystem” for defence production and innovation within the country through conscious policy initiatives.
India has developed a vibrant innovation and industrial ecosystem, the ministry said.
In his keynote address during India-Italy Defence Industry Roundtable, Singh shared his views on how the Indian defence industry has witnessed “significant changes”, particularly in the past few years through “progressive reforms”.
He said these reforms have been marked by the creation of a conducive environment for the growth of the Indian industry through transparency, predictability and ‘Ease of Doing Business’.
An MoU between Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers and the Federation of Italian Companies for Aerospace, Defence and Security was also signed, marking a significant step toward fostering closer cooperation between the defence industries of both nations, it added.
A “substantial industry delegation” from SIDM also accompanied the defence secretary to foster closer business-to-business ties between the Indian and Italian defence industries.
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