Israeli Defence Minister Benjamin Gantz discusses defence cooperation with PM Modi
Jun 02, 2022
New Delhi [India], June 2 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met visiting Defence Minister of Israel Benjamin Gantz and discussed ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries and contribute to global stability.
This visit comes as 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the formation of the official diplomatic ties between India and Israel.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz to Prime Minister Modi: "We have a great opportunity to deepen defense cooperation between our countries and to build on our shared values in order to contribute to global stability."
During his meeting with Prime Minister Modi, Minister Gantz emphasized the opportunity to invest further in defense cooperation between the two countries, while building on shared values in order to contribute to global stability.
"India is an industrial superpower and Israel is a technological superpower - cooperation between our countries will expand the capabilities of both countries to contend with developing challenges," said Gantz.
Earlier today, Minister Gantz met with Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
A wide range of issues concerning bilateral, regional and defence industrial cooperation were discussed during the meeting.
Rajnath Singh and Gantz reviewed the existing military-to-military activities which have increased despite the challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic. They discussed ways to increase cooperation in all domains with a focus on Research & Development in future technologies and defence co-production.
Both the Ministers acknowledged mutual security challenges and their convergences on a number of strategic and defence issues. They expressed commitment to work together to enhance cooperation in all forums.
With the intention to further strengthen the existing framework of the Indo-Israeli defence cooperation architecture, both sides adopted the India-Israel Vision on Defence Cooperation. A Letter of Intent on enhancing cooperation in the field of Futuristic Defence Technologies was also exchanged between the two Ministers.
Earlier in the day, the Defence Minister of Israel visited the National War Memorial and paid homage to the fallen heroes by laying a wreath at the monument. He was accorded a Ceremonial Guard of Honour before his bilateral meeting with Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh.
The visiting dignitary reached New Delhi on the morning of Thursday on an official visit to India. It was his first visit to India with an aim to strengthen the defence ties between the two countries. Defence cooperation has been one of the significant pillars of bilateral cooperation.
