Rajnath Singh, Dubai's Crown Prince explore ways for opportunities in defence manufacturing

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday held bilateral meeting with the Crown Prince of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Defence of UAE Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum here, wherein the two leaders emphasised on increasing defence industry collaboration and also discussed opportunities for enhancing partnership in defence manufacturing.

 
During their meeting, the two ministers agreed that close collaboration between the defence industries should be an integral part of the bilateral cooperation.

They further acknowledged that defence cooperation needs to be scaled up to match the progress made in other areas such as trade and business.

During their discussion, the two ministers identified training exchanges as one of the key areas of defence cooperation which would enable understanding of each other’s defence ecosystems and accelerate strengthening of bilateral defence ties.

New impetus to a historic friendship!

Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh met the Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy PM and Defence Minister of UAE Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in New Delhi.

The Leaders expressed happiness at the growing momentum in strategic… pic.twitter.com/KblB67hJgp

— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) April 8, 2025

Expressing happiness on the current defence cooperation through institutional mechanisms, military exercises, exchange of training programmes, the two leaders committed to further deepen formalising the Coast Guard-to-Coast Guard cooperation.

“Both the ministers acknowledged active participation from the two sides in each other’s exhibitions & defence expos, and welcomed India-UAE Defence Partnership Forum which has the potential to result in strategic Joint Ventures and co-production projects benefiting both countries,” a defence official said.
 
They also agreed to focus on complementarities for the two countries in the Make-in-India and Make-in-Emirates initiatives.
 
Indi and the UAE inked a defence cooperation memorandum of understanding in 2003, and an MoU on Defence Industry Cooperation was signed in 2017.
 
“India and the UAE have strong bonds of friendship based on centuries-old cultural and economic ties.”

Stating that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the UAE is of immense priority for India, the defence minister in post on X said: “In the coming years, we are eager to work closely in areas such as defence cooperation, co-production and co-development projects, innovation and technology. Both India and the UAE are committed to work towards peace and prosperity in the region.”