India-Israel ink MoU on military equipment co-production

India and Israel today inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation that will enable sharing of advanced technology and would promote co-development and co-production.

It was signed at the 17th meeting of Joint Working Group (JWG) on defence cooperation at Tel Aviv today. It was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Director General of Israeli Ministry of Defence Maj Gen Amir Baram.

The Ministry of Defence said, “the MoU will provide a unified vision and policy direction to deepen the already strong defence cooperation between the two countries.”

A 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 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.

Sweden-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in its annual report on March 10 this year said for a five year block 2020-2024, India was second largest importer of weapons globally. Israel was the third largest supplier of military equipment and resulted in 13 % of all Indian Imports.

Russia and France are the first and second largest suppliers.