India, Israel ink defence pact to boost joint weapons development
Tel Aviv: India and Israel have signed a major defence pact aimed at deepening bilateral military cooperation through technology sharing, co-development, and co-production of advanced weapon systems and hardware.
According to India’s Defence Ministry, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Tel Aviv following a meeting of the India-Israel Joint Working Group (JWG) on defence cooperation. The agreement was inked by India’s Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Israel’s Director General of the Ministry of Defence, Maj Gen (Res) Amir Baram.
The ministry described the MoU as a framework to provide a “unified vision and policy direction” for strengthening military collaboration between the two countries. It said the pact would promote cooperation in strategic areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber security, defence research, innovation, and industrial partnership.
“The MoU will enable sharing of advanced technologies and promote co-development and co-production,” the ministry said in a statement.
India is among the largest buyers of Israeli defence equipment, with Tel Aviv supplying a range of weapon systems, missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles in recent years, though most transactions have remained confidential.
The signing of the pact coincided with the visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to India. The two sides reviewed ongoing defence initiatives and expressed satisfaction over progress in joint projects.
The defence ministry noted that the new pact would further expand collaboration in training, defence industrial cooperation, research and development, and technological innovation.
Reports suggest that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may visit India in the coming months to further cement strategic ties between the two countries.
