India, Saudi Arabia discuss ways to enhance defence cooperation

New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI): Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Defence for Strategic Affairs Ahmed A Aseeri called on Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar in New Delhi on Thursday and discussed ways to enhance defence ties between the two countries.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the Deputy Minister briefed the Defence Secretary about the 5th meeting of India-Saudi Arabia Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation (JCDC) which was held on Wednesday.

The JCDC meeting was co-chaired by Joint Secretary (Armed Forces) Dinesh Kumar and Ahmed A Aseeri, as per the ministry statement.

"During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the progress made in military-to-military engagements, including joint exercises, expert exchanges and industry cooperation. It was decided to identify new avenues and examine areas of mutual interest for Joint Venture in order to enhance defence industry cooperation," the statement read further.

The enhancement of scope and complexities of the existing joint naval exercises and expanding bilateral exercises in other domains were also discussed during the meeting.

"It was agreed to hold the next meeting of JCDC in Saudi Arabia on mutually convenient dates in 2023. The JCDC is the apex body between the Defence Ministries of India and Saudi Arabia to comprehensively review and guide all aspects of bilateral defence cooperation" it added.

The Deputy Minister also interacted with the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC). A Defence Industry interaction was also organised for the delegation in which a number of Indian defence industries participated. (ANI)