Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday held talks with South Korea’s Minister of Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), Lee Yong-Cheol, as part of his visit to the East Asian nation aimed at strengthening bilateral defence cooperation.
Earlier in the day, Singh held a bilateral meeting with his South Korean counterpart Ahn Gyu-back in Seoul, during which both sides agreed to expand cooperation in defence, cyber security and strategic affairs under the growing special strategic partnership between India and South Korea.
In a post on X, Singh described the discussions as “excellent” and said both countries explored ways to deepen defence industry ties and technological collaboration.
“Held an excellent meeting with my South Korean counterpart, Ahn Gyu-Back in Seoul. We discussed ways to further deepen India-Republic of Korea defence, defence industry and strategic cooperation, with a shared commitment towards regional peace, stability and technological collaboration,” Singh said.
According to the defence minister, the meeting resulted in the exchange of multiple agreements aimed at strengthening institutional cooperation in defence and security.
India and South Korea exchanged agreements on promoting defence cyber cooperation between India’s National Defence College and the Korea National Defence University, as well as cooperation in United Nations peacekeeping initiatives, Singh said.
“It was a highly productive meeting as India and Korea exchanged Agreements on Promoting Defence Cyber Cooperation, between the National Defence College of India and the Korea National Defence University of RoK and UN Peacekeeping Cooperation, making our partnership stronger and multidimensional,” he added.
In a major step towards enhancing bilateral security ties, India and the Republic of Korea also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focused on cooperation in defence, cyber security and defence information sharing.
The agreement was signed during Singh’s official visit to Seoul in the presence of Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back.
The MoU is aimed at strengthening collaboration in countering emerging cyber threats, protecting critical military infrastructure, sharing best practices in digital defence and enhancing institutional mechanisms for information sharing to improve situational awareness and regional security.
Singh arrived in Seoul on Tuesday after concluding his visit to Vietnam. He was received by India’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Gourangalal Das, along with senior officials.
(ANI Inputs)
