Indian Government News, Paving the way for bilateral strategic and security cooperation, India and Germany have signed their first-ever defence pact encompassing joint training, technology transfers and co-production of hi-tech military hardware.
The Indo-German Defence Cooperation agreement, which would likely to help New Delhi to broadbase its military equipment suppliers to make arms purchases more competitive, has been signed on Wednesday night in Berlin by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his German Counterpart Franz Josef Jung.
Though both the leaders refused to elaborate what areas of defence the agreement was aimed at, Jung said it would mostly cover exchange of cooperation in the field of Navy and in electronic and sureviellance systems, in which Germany recently had made big breakthroughs.
Talking to the reporter after signing the pact, Mukherjee said the agreement, which comes into force immediately, provides for setting up of a high defence committee that would work out the areas of cooperation between the two countries.
The two countries agreed to institute a strategic dialogue at the level of the Indian Defence Secretary and German Secretary of State and form sub committees focusing on strategic defence cooperation, technical cooperation and military-to-military cooperation.
Prior to the signing of the agreement, Mukherjee held almost a marathon 80-minute one-to-one meeting with Jung during which, sources said, fast unfolding events in Lebanon, situation in south Asia as well as developing an exchange of information on global terrorism came up.
Under the agreement, top level defence officials from the two countries would meet once a year alternatively in Germany and India.
It also envisages the setting up of a bilateral strategic defence cooperation group headed by the joint secretary in the ministry of defence in India and deputy chief of staff, politico-military affairs, German federal Ministry of defence.
The subjects covered by the group would include security and defence policy, diasater relief and other mutually agreed areas.
Another bilateral group would deal with defence technology cooperation and defence business cooperation and would be headed by joint secretary in the acquisition wing of the defence ministry and an armament director on the German side.
The agreement also provides for enhancing exchange of armed forces personnel in each other's military training institutions and making exchanges of visit by senior services personnel.
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