[ad_1]
After the talks, Pistorius told reporters that Berlin’s strategic relationship with New Delhi has become more important in the context of the unpredictable situation in the Indo-Pacific region. The remarks came amid growing global concerns over China’s increasing military aggression in the region. According to the Defense Ministry, in talks with Pistorius, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh emphasized that India and Germany are “more vibrant” based on shared goals. Defense can build relationships.
Pistorius told the media in German, ‘I think we need to do more in that region (Indo-Pacific) in partnership with India. Because we are getting closer to the time when we really cannot predict what is going to happen in the next few years. ‘And we need strategic partners like India, like Indonesia, for example, to make sure that the law of free shipping and free trade routes are accessible over the course of the next decade,’ he said.
Referring to the submarine project, Pistorius said the process relating to the proposed purchase of six submarines was not yet complete and that German industry was “well placed” in the race for the contract. Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) company is ready to bid for the Rs 43,000 crore project. Pistorius will visit Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd on Wednesday and a possible collaboration between it and TKMS is likely to come up during his meetings with officials of the defense public sector undertaking.
In this regard, an official said that the bidding process for the mega submarine project will close in August. In June 2021, the Defense Ministry approved a mega project to indigenously build six conventional submarines for the Indian Navy. In his conversation with Pistorius, Singh asserted that India and Germany can build a ‘more symbiotic’ defense relationship based on shared goals and complementarities of strength.
He asked Germany to invest in defense corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Officials said that the two defense ministers also reviewed the regional security situation, including China’s increasing aggression in the Indo-Pacific and other regions. Pistorius arrived in Delhi on Monday on a four-day visit to India. This is the first visit of a German Defense Minister to India since 2015.
He said that the Indian defense industry can participate in the supply chain of the German defense industry and contribute to the resilience of the supply chain, besides strengthening the ecosystem. There is information that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on the world was also discussed in the talks. The submarines concerned will be built under the strategic partnership model that allows domestic defense manufacturers to work together with leading foreign defense companies to produce high-quality military platforms to reduce dependence on imports.
Pistorius had told Germany’s state broadcaster Deutsche Welle that India’s continued dependence on Russian arms was not in Germany’s interest. The Defense Ministry said that both the ministers reviewed the activities of bilateral defense cooperation and in particular explored ways to increase defense industrial partnership. “The Defense Minister mentioned the opportunities that have arisen in the defense production sector, including the potential for German investment in two defense industrial corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu,” the ministry said.
India and Germany have a strategic partnership since 2000, which has been strengthened through intergovernmental consultations since 2011. Defense Secretary Giridhar Armane and Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan were part of the Indian delegation. From the German side, Pistorius was accompanied by Defense Ministry official Benedict Zimmer and several other senior officials in the delegation. Before the talks, the Defense Minister of Germany inspected the guard of honor given by the three armies.
read this also-
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV team, it is published directly from syndicate feed.)
[ad_2]
<