Raksha Mantri Mr Rajnath Singh recently held a meeting with the Crown Prince of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Defence of UAE Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Both the Ministers acknowledged that defence cooperation needs to be scaled up to match the progress made in other areas such as trade and business, in line with the vision and determination of the two leaders – Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi and President of UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

They identified training exchanges as one of the key areas of defence cooperation which would enable understanding of each other’s defence ecosystems and accelerate strengthening of bilateral defence ties.

The two leaders expressed satisfaction on the active Coast Guard-to-Coast Guard cooperation and committed to further deepen it by formalising the

same through an MoU. They were convinced that close collaboration between the defence industries should be an integral part of the bilateral cooperation.

They emphasised on increasing defence industry collaboration and discussed opportunities for enhancing partnership in defence manufacturing.

Through a post on X after the meeting, Raksha Mantri stated that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the UAE is of immense priority for India.

“In the coming years, we are eager to work closely in areas such as defence cooperation, co-production and co-development projects, innovation and technology. Both India and the UAE are committed to work towards peace and prosperity in the region,” he added.