Rajnath Singh, French counterpart Catherine Vautrin to hold 6th India-France Defence Dialogue in Bengaluru on Feb 17

NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh and his French counterpart, Catherine Vautrin, will co-chair the 6th India-France Annual Defence Dialogue in Bengaluru on February 17, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

This will be Vautrin’s first visit to India since taking office as France’s Minister of armed forces and veterans affairs in October last year.





"The meeting will review the entire gamut of bilateral defence cooperation, with a focus on expanding industrial collaboration,” the MoD said in a press release.

"During the meeting, a defence cooperation agreement is expected to be renewed for another 10 years, with an MoU on a joint venture for the manufacturing of Hammer missiles likely to be signed in the presence of both defense ministers. An announcement is also expected with respect to reciprocal deployment of officers at the Indian Army and French Land Forces establishments,” it added.

The two ministers are also expected to witness the virtual inauguration of the H125 Light Utility Helicopter Final Assembly of Tata Airbus by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron in Karnataka’s Vemagal. Macron will be on a three-day official visit to India from February 17–19.

The MoD release further stated that “defence has traditionally formed an important pillar of the India-France relationship.” It highlighted that the strong bilateral ties were reflected in 2024–2025 through a series of high-profile exchanges, and noted that military-to-military cooperation has been increasing, with India and France regularly conducting three major exercises—Exercise Shakti (Army), Exercise Varuna (Navy), and Exercise Garuda (Air Force)—as well as several other engagements.

The India-France Annual Defence Dialogue is “a structured ministerial-level bilateral meeting that reviews and guides defence and security cooperation.” The 5th edition of the dialogue was held in the European nation from October 11–13, 2023.

(With ANI inputs)