Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with Defence Minister of United Kingdom Grant Shapps in London on Tuesday. Before the meeting, Singh was presented a ceremonial Guard of Honour at the Horse Guards Parade Ground with his UK counterpart.
The Ministry of Defence said that during the fruitful bilateral meeting, the Ministers discussed a range of defence, security and cooperation matters with particular emphasis on enhancing defence industrial collaboration.
Shapps stressed that the relationship between UK and India is not transactional, instead both countries are natural partners with many commonalities and shared goals, the Ministry stated.
Rajnath Singh is on a three-day visit to the UK, the first by an Indian Defence Minister in 22 years.
Had an excellent meeting with UK Defence Minister, Mr. Grant Shapps. We reviewed the full range of India-UK defence relations. We had fruitful discussions on a wide range of issues pertaining to defence cooperation, security and also on enhancing defence industrial cooperation. pic.twitter.com/fzJqhm6PcX
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) January 9, 2024
The bilateral meeting was followed by the signing of two agreements between India and UK – a Memorandum of Understanding on conduct of bilateral international cadet exchange program.
A Letter of Arrangement was also signed between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) on defence collaboration in research and development.
These documents will provide impetus to the people-to-people exchanges particularly among the youth, and larger area of defence research collaboration between the two countries, the Ministry stated.
