India-UK to cooperate, co-create, co-innovate: Rajnath Singh

LONDON: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said India envisions an enriching defence partnership with the UK focussed on co-creation as he co-chaired a UK-India Defence Industry CEOs Roundtable with his British counterpart Grant Shapps here.

The roundtable was attended by several chief executives from the UK defence industry, UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials, the UK-India Business Council (UKIBC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) India representatives.

Some of the major defence companies represented at the interaction included BAE Systems, GE Vernova, James Fisher Defence, Leonardo SpA, Martin Baker Aircraft Company Ltd, SAAB UK, Thales UK, Ultra-Maritime Rolls-Royce, ADS Group, and MBDA UK.

"Had a wonderful interaction with the industry leaders and CEOs at the UK-India Defence CEO Roundtable in London," Singh said in a post on X.

"India envisions an enriching partnership with the UK to cooperate, co-create and co-innovate. By synergising the strengths of both the countries, we can do great things together,” he said.

The meeting was also attended by UK Minister of State for Defence Procurement James Cartildge and included thematic discussions on strengthening the India-UK defence industrial relationship.

According to the Indian Ministry of Defence, Singh welcomed the investment and technology collaboration from the UK and stated that India is ready with skilled human resource base, a robust pro-FDI and pro-business ecosystem, and a huge domestic market. Singh is said to have asserted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is surging ahead on the path of becoming a developed economy by 2047.

Shapps is said to have highlighted that India-UK ties transcend the normal buyer-seller relationship as a fundamentally a strategic partnership.

"The industry leaders from the UK outlined their current and future plans for India. Aero-engines, Electric Propulsion, missiles, power-packs, and maritime systems were identified as some of the focus areas of joint work. The Raksha Mantri noted the positivity and enthusiasm of UK CEOs and business leaders on working in India and with the Indian companies,” the Indian ministry’s statement added.

On Tuesday, the first formal day of engagements on his three-day visit, Singh held a bilateral meeting with Shapps with an emphasis on enhancing defence industrial cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting was followed by the signing of two agreements between India and UK – an MoU on conduct of bilateral international cadet exchange programme, and a Letter of Arrangement between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) on defence collaboration in research and development.

He is scheduled to interact with the members of the diaspora at a community reception at the conclusion of his visit on Wednesday evening.