New Delhi: India and Indonesia on Monday held their Defence Ministers’ Dialogue here, wherein both the maritime neighbours agreed to further enhance their bilateral defence cooperation.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh-led the Indian delegation while the Indonesian delegation was led by its Defence Minister General Prabowo Subianto, who is in India on a 3-day state visit.
“I am delighted to welcome the Defence Minister of Republic of Indonesia, General Prabowo Subianto in India. During today’s talks we exchanged views on several bilateral and regional issues. We also discussed important issues pertaining to defence and mutual cooperation,” Mr Singh said in a tweet.
During the talks, Mr Singh reiterated the long history of mutually beneficial interactions between the two countries with a tradition of close political dialogue, economic and trade linkages as well as cultural and people to people interactions, the defence ministry said in a statement.
Conveying satisfaction on the military to military interactions, Mr Singh indicated that the defence cooperation between India and Indonesia has witnessed an upswing in the recent years, which is in consonance with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two sides.
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Both the Ministers agreed to further enhance the bilateral defence cooperation in mutually agreed areas.
Potential areas of cooperation in the field of defence industries and defence technology were also identified by the two countries.
Both the defence ministers committed themselves to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in these areas and take them to the next level of deliverables.
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“The meeting ended on a positive note with a commitment to further strengthen and widen the scope of the bilateral cooperation between the two countries,” it said.
Chief of Defence Staff & Secretary Department of Military Affairs Gen Bipin Rawat, Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, Indian Navy Chief Adm Karambir Singh, Indian Air Force Chief ACM RKS Bhadauria and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar and other senior civil and military officials were also present in the bilateral meeting.
Earlier, General Subianto was given ceremonial Guard of Honour on the lawns of South Block when he arrived for the Dialogue.
He was personally received by his Indian counterpart at the venue.
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Upon his arrival, General Subianto visited the National War Memorial and laid a wreath as a mark of respect to the fallen heroes.
India and Indonesia have robust cooperation in the area of defence and security.
The two countries inked a new defence cooperation agreement in 2018 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Indonesia.
The pact was aimed at reflecting the elevation of relationship between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
