LONDON, Apr 21: The Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, has held a wide range of high-level discussions with military counterparts and ministers on the evolving nature of conflict and countering emerging challenges in the Indo-Pacific in London this week.
General Chauhan called on Luke Pollard, UK Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Readiness & Industry, and Seema Malhotra, MoS for Indo-Pacific, as part of what has been described as a “landmark” visit.
The Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) said the meetings were aimed at taking forward the India-UK partnership, with a focus on the bilateral Defence Industrial Roadmap and technology and security initiatives.
“Discussions centred on evolving nature of conflict and deepening military-to-military cooperation,” the HQ IDS stated. “Both sides emphasised enhancing cooperation in Cyber, Intelligence and Space domains, including information resilience and specialised exchanges. The exchange reaffirmed a shared commitment to resilient, future-ready forces and a strengthened India-UK strategic partnership,” it said.
General Chauhan was accorded a Ceremonial Step Line when he was received by Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton in London on Monday.
Their discussions revolved around an expanding cooperation in cyber, intelligence, industrial collaboration and joint exercises to reinforce global security, stability and resilience.
“Great to discuss UK-India defence and security cooperation with India’s Chief of Defence Staff General Chauhan today. The UK and India are working together to promote peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, as set out by Prime Ministers Keir Starmer and Narendra Modi last year,” Sir Richard said in a social media statement.
During a packed schedule, the Defence Chief also engaged with sector experts, officials and academics on a roundtable entitled ‘Indian military transformation challenges and opportunity’ at King’s College London, focused on the evolving strategic landscape and imperatives of modern military transformation.
“Discussions underscored the centrality of advanced technologies in defence, enhancement of operational capabilities and closer synergy across industrial, intelligence and cyber domains, alongside strategic communication and joint engagements to further strengthen a robust, future-oriented India-UK defence partnership,” the Defence HQ noted.
The High Commission of India in London added that the Defence Chief’s talks ranged from defence transformation, emerging tech, and multi-domain integration to strengthen the bilateral defence cooperation.
This week marks the first official visit by an Indian Chief of Defence Staff to the UK and follows a series of senior India-UK military engagements in recent months. It follows India and the UK launching a 10-year Defence Industrial Roadmap under the Vision 2035 agreement to support growth, strengthen security and contribute to international stability. (PTI)
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