India and UAE reaffirmed strong defence ties at the 13th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting in Delhi on July 30, 2025.
Picture: X/@SpokespersonMoD
India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral defence cooperation during the 13th India-UAE Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting, held at the Secretary level for the first time, in New Delhi on Wednesday (July 30, 2025).
The two sides agreed to elevate defence ties to match the growing momentum in areas such as trade, investment, and social relations, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
The meeting was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and the UAE’s Under Secretary of Defence, Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Nasser M. Al Alawi, who is leading a high-level defence delegation on a two-day visit to India.
The two sides agreed to enhance military training cooperation and discussed their respective training requirements. India offered to provide customised training courses tailored to the UAE’s needs. They also agreed to cooperate on maritime security through real-time information sharing, the Defence Ministry said.
Both countries agreed to pursue joint manufacturing initiatives, including models similar to the collaboration between ICOMM (India) and CARACAL(UAE) for small arms production. The potential for co-developing next generation defence technologies in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence was also discussed, alongside opportunities in shipbuilding, refits, upgrades, and maintenance of common platforms, the Ministry added.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and the United Arad Emirates National Guard Command (UAE NGC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on maritime security and safety cooperation.
In the run-up to the JDCC meeting, India and the UAE held the fourth Army-to-Army, ninth Navy-to-Navy, and the inaugural Air-to-Air Staff talks from July 28 to 29. These deliberations focused on enhancing military exercises, training, and subject matter expert exchange.
India and the UAE share a robust and growing defence relationship, underpinned by the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark visit to the UAE in 2015. India’s upcoming participation in the Dubai Air Show in November is set to further reinforce this momentum.
Published – July 30, 2025 09:56 pm IST
