Rajnath Singh, Pistorius discuss strengthening Indo-German defence ties

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday had a telephonic conversation with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius during which they reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation activities, including exercises in the air and maritime domains.

The ministers also discussed ways to further strengthen the defence industrial collaboration and enhance supply chain resilience, the Indian defence ministry said.

"Rajnath Singh held a telephonic conversation with the German Federal Minister of Defence Mr Boris Pistorius on October 8," it said.

The telephonic conversation comes ahead of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's scheduled visit to India later this month.

The ministers "briefly reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation activities including exercises in the air and maritime domains," the ministry said in a statement.

Singh and Pistorius discussed ways to further strengthen the defence industrial collaboration and enhance supply chain resilience, it added.

"They planned to meet in the near future to give concrete shape to the defence engagements and joint projects with an aim to transform defence as a key pillar of the India-Germany bilateral relationship," the ministry said.

Singh also posted on X about the talks.

"Had a telephonic conversation with the German Federal Minister of Defence, Mr Boris Pistorius. We reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation activities including the exercises in air and maritime domain. We also discussed ways and means to strengthen the defence industrial collaboration and enhance supply chain resilience," he wrote on the social media platform.