MoU inked to enable sharing of advanced tech and promote co-development & co-production
New Delhi / Tel Aviv, NFAPost: The 17th meeting of Joint Working Group (JWG) on defence cooperation, co-chaired by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Director General of Israeli Ministry of Defence Maj Gen (Res) Amir Baram, took place in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
An MoU on Defence Cooperation was signed during the meeting to provide a unified vision and policy direction to deepen the already strong defence cooperation between the two countries.
A wide range of areas for cooperation have been identified in the MoU that will benefit both countries. Important fields include strategic dialogues of mutual interest, training, defence industrial cooperation, and capabilities including Science & Technology, Research & Development and Technological Innovation, Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security cooperation. The MoU will enable the sharing of advanced technology and would promote co-development and co-production.
The JWG reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation initiatives and agreed that both the nations have benefited from each other’s strengths. The two sides discussed the potential areas for future collaboration in the field of technology as well as enhancing operational capabilities. They also deliberated on various issues, including shared challenges of terrorism and underscored their collective resolve to fight against the threat.
India-Israel defence partnership is long-standing based on deep mutual trust and shared security interests.
New Delhi and Tel Aviv have for the last two decades seen an uptick in the defence partnership. Israel provided India with laser-guided bombs during the Kargil conflitc in 1999. In the subsequent decade, the India-Israel defence partnership touched roughly $10 billion.
In 2021, India accounted for nearly 37% of Israel’s total arms exports, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). In recent years, a number of Indian companies have signed joint ventures with Israeli firms to produce arms in India. In 2021, the Israeli Tavor X 95 rifles were supplied to central forces, and were manufactured in India.
