NEW DELHI: Newly appointed German Ambassador to India Jasper Wieck met Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, with both sides discussing India-Germany defence cooperation and the broader strategic partnership. The engagement comes as both countries seek to deepen military and defence-industrial ties, including cooperation in advanced technologies and maritime security.
The meeting follows a series of high-level India-Germany defence engagements this year. In April, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius agreed to strengthen the co-development and co-production of defence equipment, particularly in niche technologies. India and Germany also signed a Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap aimed at long-term collaboration between their defence industries.
A major element of the expanding partnership is Project-75(I), under which Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders are expected to build six next-generation conventional submarines in India with substantial technology transfer. Wieck said in September that the agreement had been finalised on the German side and was awaiting completion of India’s internal processes.
Meanwhile, India and Greece discussed defence and strategic cooperation, focusing on maritime security, coastal security and shipbuilding, as the defence secretary met Greece’s Deputy Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Stefanos Gkikas, in New Delhi. The engagement highlights the growing maritime dimension of the India-Greece Strategic Partnership.
The two sides emphasised their shared interests as major maritime nations, including the need to ensure the safety and security of seafarers.
The discussions connected defence cooperation with the broader maritime domain, covering areas critical to secure sea lanes, coastal protection and naval capability development. The engagement builds on the broader expansion of India-Greece defence ties.
Inaugural Session of Indo-Russian Working Group Meeting
The inaugural session of the 24th Working Group meeting of the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation and Defence Industry was held in New Delhi.
The session was co-chaired by Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar and Russia’s First Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), Andrey A. Boytsov.
Senior officials from both countries participated in the deliberations. Discussions focused on reviewing existing military-technical cooperation and advancing co-production and co-development initiatives to further strengthen the India-Russia strategic partnership in defence.
