India, South Korea deepen defence ties with new cooperation pacts

The two countries signed agreements on cyber defence, military training and UN peacekeeping cooperation during Rajnath Singh's visit to Seoul

India and South Korea signed defence cooperation agreements on Wednesday during the visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Seoul.

 

Singh met South Korea’s Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-back to discuss collaboration in maritime security, emerging technologies, military exchanges, logistics and regional security, among other areas.

 

Agreements were exchanged on promoting cooperation in cyber defence, training between India’s National Defence College and the Korea National Defence University, and UN peacekeeping cooperation.

 

The meeting acknowledged the growing convergence of India’s “Act East” policy and South Korea’s regional strategic vision, and reiterated both sides’ commitment to strengthening defence ties in line with the shared objective of maintaining a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific, India’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

 

 

Singh also met Lee Yong-chul, head of South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and discussed creating avenues for joint development, joint production and joint exports. Singh chaired the India-Republic of Korea Defence Industry Business Round Table.