INDIA and Italy inked an agreement to expand their defence ties including for co-development and co-production of military platforms following wide-ranging talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto in Rome. Singh is in Italy on the first leg of his two-nation tour. From Italy, the minister will be travelling to France. In a statement on Tuesday, the Defence Ministry said the focus of the talks between Singh and Crosetto on Monday was on defence-industrial cooperation and that the pact will help promote co-development, co-production and setting up of joint ventures.

 

“The agreement will promote bilateral cooperation in varied defence domains, such as security and defence policy, research and development, education in the military field, maritime domain awareness, sharing of defence information and industrial cooperation, including co-development, co-production and setting up of joint ventures,” it said. The signing of the pact is seen as a major initiative to expand the defence cooperation that came nearly two years after the Defence Ministry lifted the ban on AgustaWestland and its parent company Leonardo SpA.