New Delhi, 23 April (H.S.):

India and Egypt have agreed to deepen their defence‑industry cooperation and work jointly under a fresh roadmap, following the 11th India–Egypt Joint Defence Committee (JDC) meeting held in Cairo. The talks, which concluded on Wednesday, laid out a structured plan for bilateral defence engagement through 2026–27 and underscored both nations’ shared focus on maritime security, joint exercises, and technology partnerships.

During the JDC meeting, the two sides reviewed progress since the previous committee session and finalised a joint roadmap for expanding defence cooperation. Anchored in their broader strategic partnership, the roadmap prioritises strengthening military connectivity, intensifying combined training, scaling up naval collaboration, and enhancing technology transfer and co‑development initiatives.

Officials stressed that deepening defence‑industrial ties will now be a central pillar of the bilateral relationship, building on Egypt’s established manufacturing base and India’s rapidly expanding defence‑production ecosystem.

An Indian delegation led by Joint Secretary (International Cooperation) Amitabh Prasad, with senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces, participated in the talks alongside an Egyptian team comprising senior officers from the Egyptian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence.

The Indian side highlighted that India’s defence‑industry turnover has now crossed 20 billion dollars, with exports to over 100 countries amounting to roughly 4 billion dollars, underscoring its growing role as a supplier of advanced defence platforms and systems.

A key outcome of the meeting was the inaugural India–Egypt Navy‑to‑Navy staff talks, which focused on enhancing coordination in the broader Indo‑Mediterranean region. The delegation lauded the Indian Navy’s role in upholding freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean Region and underscored the importance of India’s Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region (IFC‑IOR) in bolstering maritime domain awareness and security‑related information‑sharing.

The Indian delegation also met with Lieutenant General Amr Abdel Rahman Sokar, Commander of the Egyptian Air Force, and expressed appreciation for the close cooperation between the two air forces. In a symbolic gesture, the delegation paid tribute to Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the First and Second World Wars by laying a wreath at the Helipolis War Memorial, reinforcing the enduring historical and emotional bonds between the two nations.

By aligning on a forward‑looking defence‑cooperation plan and prioritising industrial collaboration, India and Egypt have effectively signalled their intent to transform an already robust strategic partnership into a more operationally integrated and technology‑driven relationship, with significant implications for regional security architecture and defence‑trade dynamics.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar