“Will see deeper engagement”: India, Romania to deepen defence cooperation in drones, aerospace
Speaking at a special briefing to the media, MEA Secretary (West) Sibi George said defense cooperation has emerged as an important pillar of the bilateral partnership, with both sides welcoming increased interaction between defense institutions, including the Joint Committee on Defense Cooperation meeting held in May.
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“There is huge scope to further strengthen cooperation in areas such as defense production, industrial cooperation, defense technologies, maritime security, cyber security, etc. Many Indian companies are exploring co-development and co-production opportunities in the defense sector, including civil and defense aerospace and next-generation drone technologies,” George said.
Responding to a question on the future of India-Romania defense relations, George said India is focusing on indigenous defense production through two defense corridors and expanding cooperation with partner countries, including Romania.
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“As you know, we have been making a lot of efforts for domestic production of defense in recent years. We are focusing on two major defense corridors in India, one in the south and the other in the north, and great progress has been made in our cooperation with many of our partner countries, including some European countries.” he said. “Romania is one of the countries with which we are considering further cooperation in the defense sector. I mentioned drone technology and aviation. These are some of the areas we are looking at.” George added.
The MEA official said cooperation was progressing and added that further developments could be expected soon. “Significant progress has been made. I do not want to go into the specific companies involved in this collaboration and cooperation. But I can assure you that in the coming months you will see deeper interaction between the two countries in the defense sector,” he said.
“There has already been a Joint Committee meeting identifying areas of cooperation. So this is a work in progress and we will see significant progress here,” George added.
The two sides also discussed cooperation in the fight against global terrorism. George noted that Romania supports India in the fight against terrorism and strongly condemns the Pulwama terrorist attack.
Leaders also discussed cooperation in digital public infrastructure. President Murmu invited Romania to explore adopting India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to facilitate trade and tourism.
The President also announced that India Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) training slots for Romania will be doubled, including programs specialized in Artificial Intelligence. Romanian diplomats have also been invited to attend the upcoming professional course at the Sushma Swaraj Foreign Service Institute focusing on Artificial Intelligence and cyber diplomacy.
