India, Germany discuss joint exercises in Indo-Pacific, bilateral security

A range of bilateral security and defence issues, including joint exercises in the Indo-Pacific, came up for discussion during India-Germany High Defence Committee (HDC) meeting in Berlin.

Indian Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane co-chaired the meeting in Berlin on Tuesday with Benedikt Zimmer, State Secretary, German Ministry of Defence, with a focus on developing defence cooperation as a key pillar of the strategic partnership between the two nations.

“They exchanged views on the regional security situation, discussed likely joint exercises with Germany in the Indo-Pacific, and deliberated on potential defence industrial projects and proposals,” the Ministry of Defence said in a release on Wednesday.

Aramane and Zimmer also emphasised the need for a closer defence partnership and connecting the defence industries from both sides together.

“Of particular focus was the collaboration in high technology in defence,” it said.

Aramane also interacted with the German Institute of International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik – SWP), a prominent think tank in Berlin.

The conduct of the HDC meeting follows the four-day visit of German Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius to India in June 2023 where he held a bilateral meeting with Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh.

Both Ministers reviewed the ongoing bilateral defence cooperation activities and explored ways to enhance the collaboration, particularly defence industrial partnership.

Singh then highlighted the opportunities in the defence production sector, including the possibilities for German investments in the two Defence Industrial Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

India and Germany have had the HDC meeting since 2006, which takes place annually, alternately in New Delhi and Berlin.