New Delhi: India and Germany on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening defence cooperation, with senior officials from both countries calling for closer collaboration in security, military exchanges and defence manufacturing.
At the India–Germany High Defence Committee meeting held here, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Jens Plötner, State Secretary in the German Ministry of Defence, reviewed ongoing engagements and identified priority areas for co-development and co-production of defence equipment. They also discussed wider regional security dynamics and ways to expand military-to-military cooperation, including new formats for joint exercises.
According to a press release issued by PIB India, Germany confirmed its participation in two major Indian multilateral exercises in 2026—TARANG SHAKTI, an air combat exercise, and MILAN, a naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy. Both sides stressed that defence ties remain a key pillar of the 25-year-old Strategic Partnership between the two nations.
India highlighted its role as a “First Responder” and “Net Security Provider” in the Indian Ocean Region, guided by its MAHASAGAR doctrine, which emphasises cooperative security, capacity building, maritime safety and humanitarian assistance across the region. The German delegation acknowledged India’s growing strategic influence and its pivotal role in maintaining stability in the IOR.
Both countries agreed that connecting their defence industries—particularly in emerging and niche technologies—would be essential to building a future-oriented partnership. The meeting underscored shared democratic values, long-standing trust and a mutual intent to deepen security cooperation at a time of evolving global challenges.
