New Delhi, June 6 (KNN) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius on Tuesday reviewed the ongoing bilateral defence cooperation activities and explored ways to enhance the collaboration, particularly defence industrial partnership.

This was discussed during a bilateral meeting in New Delhi as India’s Defence Minister highlighted the opportunities that have opened up in the defence production sector, said the official statement.

He spoke about the possibilities for German investments in the two Defence Industrial Corridors in Uttar Pradesh & Tamil Nadu.

The Indian defence industry could participate in the supply chains of German defence industry and add value to the ecosystem, besides contributing to supply chain resilience.

The Minister further stressed that India and Germany could build a more symbiotic relationship based on shared goals and complementarity of strength, namely skilled workforce & competitive costs from India and high technologies & investment from Germany.

Senior officials from Ministry of Defence, including Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, participated in the delegation-level meeting.

From the German side, State Secretary from Ministry of Defence Benedikt Zimmer, apart from senior officials and the German Ambassador to India, were present. This is the first visit of a German Defence Minister to India since 2015.

The bilateral meeting was preceded by a Tri-Service Guard of Honour to the visiting dignitary.

The German Minister will interact with some Indian defence start-ups at IIT Delhi, in an event organised by Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX).

He is on a four-day visit and on June 7 he will be traveling to Mumbai, where he is scheduled to visit the Headquarters, Western Naval Command and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited.  (KNN Bureau)