NEW DELHI: Defense minister Rajnath Singh will begin a three-day official visit to Germany on Tuesday, with efforts to strengthen strategic defense ties and deeper industrial cooperation expected to dominate the agenda.During the visit, Singh is scheduled to hold bilateral talks in Berlin with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and other senior leaders. The discussions are expected to focus on expanding defense industrial collaboration, increasing military-to-military engagements, and exploring cooperation in emerging sectors such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and drone technologies.“Discussions will focus on enhancing defense industrial collaboration, strengthening military-to-military engagements, and exploring opportunities in emerging domains such as cyber security, artificial intelligence, and drones,” the defense ministry said ahead of the visit.A key outcome of the trip is expected to be the signing of a bilateral defense industrial cooperation roadmap aimed at creating a framework for co-development and co-production of military hardware.“A defense industrial cooperation roadmap and implementing arrangement for cooperation in UN Peacekeeping operations training are likely to be signed in the presence of both the defense ministers,” the ministry said.Officials said the roadmap would provide a structure for both countries to jointly develop and manufacture various defense platforms and equipment. The visit is also expected to provide an opportunity to review ongoing defense cooperation and identify fresh areas of collaboration between industries in both countries.Singh is also likely to meet senior representatives of the German defense industry to encourage joint ventures, technology partnerships, and co-production projects under India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.There is also a possibility that the two sides may finalize an inter-governmental agreement linked to the supply of six stealth submarines for the Indian Navy. German defense major ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd have been engaged in price negotiations with the defense ministry for the estimated Euro 5 billion project. The proposed deal is being seen as one of the biggest ‘Make in India’ defense programs in recent years.India and Germany have steadily expanded defense and security cooperation in recent years. With export control procedures easing and approvals being cleared more quickly, defense exports from Germany to India have increased.This will be the first visit by an Indian Defense Minister to Germany in seven years, highlighting the significance of the current engagement. The last such visit was by Nirmala Sitharaman in February 2019.German defense minister Boris Pistorius visited India in June 2023 and held extensive talks with Singh. The latest visit is expected to add momentum to the growing India-Germany strategic partnership and broadened cooperation across defense and advanced technology sectors.
