India, Saudi Arabia hold talks to boost defence cooperation

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New Delhi, June 30

Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Defence for Strategic Affairs Ahmed A Aseeri called on Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar on Thursday.

They discussed ways to enhance defence cooperation between the two countries. The Deputy Minister briefed the Defence Secretary about the 5th meeting of India-Saudi Arabia Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation (JCDC) that was held on June 29.

The JCDC meeting was co-chaired by Joint Secretary (Armed Forces) Dinesh Kumar and Ahmed A Aseeri. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the progress made in military-to-military engagements, including joint exercises, expert exchanges and industry cooperation.

It was decided to identify new avenues and examine areas of mutual interest for joint ventures in order to enhance defence industry cooperation. Enhancing the scope and complexities of the existing joint naval exercises and expanding bilateral exercises in other domains were also discussed.

The JCDC is the apex body between the defence ministries of India and Saudi Arabia to comprehensively review and guide all aspects of bilateral defence cooperation.

A defence industry interaction was also organised for the delegation in which representatives of a number of Indian defence industries participated.