Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to visit Italy and France from October 09 to 12, 2023. During the first leg of his two-nation visit, the Raksha Mantri is set to meet Italian Defence Minister Guido Crisetto in Rome. This visit is aimed at further strengthening the relationship between India and Italy that was elevated to Strategic Partnership in March 2023 during the visit of the Italian Prime Minister to India.
During the second and final leg of the visit, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will conduct the 5th Annual Defence Dialogue with his counterpart, French Minister of Armed Forces Sebastian Lecornu in Paris. India and France recently celebrated 25 years of Strategic Partnership. Both countries also enjoy a deep and wide-ranging bilateral defence relationship, including significant industrial cooperation.
Earlier in July 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest award by Emmanuel Macron, President of the Republic of France. Both the nations share cooperation in various areas such as economic and trade, energy, environment, education, mobility, railways, digital public infrastructure, museology and people to people ties.
Meanwhile, in both Rome and Paris, the Raksha Mantri will be interacting with the defence industry CEOs and senior representatives to discuss potential opportunities for industrial cooperation.