NEW DELHI: In a bid to further strengthen defence relations, the India-France Military Sub Committee (MSC) held discussions for two days on October 16 and 17 at the Air Force Station in New Delhi. The meetings also coincided with the inaugural India-UK 2+2 Foreign and Defence dialogue.
“The discussions focused on new initiatives under the ambit of existing bilateral defence cooperation mechanism and strengthening of the ongoing defence engagements,” Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday.
The 21st edition of military sub-committee engagement was conducted in a friendly, warm and cordial atmosphere, the ministry said. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership. “India-France Military Sub-Committee is a forum established to progress defence cooperation between both the nations through regular talks at strategic and operational levels between Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters and the Joint Staff Headquarters of French Armed Forces,” the ministry said.
The meeting was co-chaired from the Indian side by Air Vice-Marshal Ashish Vohra, Assistant Chief of Integrated Staff, (Military Cooperation) at Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters, and from the French side by Major General Eric Peltier, General Officer at International Military Relations of the Joint Staff.
The inaugural India-UK 2+2 Foreign and Defence Dialogue was also held in Delhi on October 16. This was a mechanism to review all aspects of the India-UK strategic partnership. The Indian delegation was co-chaired by Piyush Srivastava, Joint Secretary Europe West, Ministry of External Affairs and Vishwesh Negi, Joint Secretary, International Cooperation, Ministry of Defence.
Strategic partnership
The defence and strategic ties between India and France have been on an upswing in the last few years. In July, India and France announced a raft of ground-breaking defence cooperation projects including the joint development of jet and helicopter engines and construction of three Scorpene submarines for the Indian Navy.The two strategic partners also expressed commitment to cooperate in the co-development and co-production of advanced defence technologies, including for the benefit of third countries.