India, Italy sign defence pact

New Delhi, October 10

India and Italy have signed an “agreement on cooperation in the field of defence”. It was signed following a meeting of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto in Rome.

The Ministry of Defence announced the move today. The agreement is expected to promote bilateral cooperation in varied domains, such as security and defence policy, R&D, military education , maritime domain awareness, sharing of defence information and industrial cooperation, including co-development, co-production and setting up of joint ventures.

Rajnath is on a four-day visit to Italy and France. At a meeting in Rome, both sides discussed a host of defence cooperation issues, including training, sharing of information and maritime exercises and security. The focus was on the opportunities in defence industrial cooperation.

He also met CEOs of top Italian defence companies and offered opportunities for co-development and co-production. In all, 24 Italian defence companies participated, including from Leonardo, Fincanteri, Electtronica, Beretta, AIAD, Pasquali, etc.

The minister also visited a memorial recently built for Naik Yaswant Ghadge at Montone and other Indian soldiers who fought in the Italian Campaign in World War II. He was welcomed by the Mayor of Montone, children and the Indian community members.