New Delhi [India], January 27 (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday stated that the signing of the know-how and defence partnership between India and the European Union marks a big step in bringing the 2 sides nearer amid a posh international setting.
Addressing the EU delegation led by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, at Raksha Mantralaya, South Block, Singh welcomed the EU leaders’ go to, highlighting its particular significance because it coincides with India’s seventy fifth Republic Day.
‘Thank you to your go to to India, your go to could be very particular because it falls on the event of our seventy fifth Republic Day. The event marks a milestone within the celebration of India’s constitutional journey and the reaffirmation of our dedication to international peace and safety,’ Singh stated.
He added that the shared values of democracy, pluralism, federalism, and the rule of regulation kind the inspiration of India’s rising partnership with the European Union.
‘Together we intention to translate these shared values into sensible cooperation for international safety, sustainable progress, and inclusive prosperity,’ Singh stated.
The Defence Minister emphasised that the partnership displays the belief between India and the EU and can strengthen cooperation in financial, defence, and people-to-people join, bringing the 2 historical civilisations nearer in a quickly altering world.
‘The signing of the know-how and defence partnership between India and the European Union is a mirrored image of this belief in motion, and it brings us collectively in an more and more advanced international setting. I hope the elevated momentum of the India-EU partnership in financial, defence, and people-to-people join will carry the 2 historical civilisations a lot nearer,’ he added.
The know-how and defence partnership was signed forward of the sixteenth India-EU Summit, co-chaired by President of the European Council Antonio Luis Santos da Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who’re on a state go to to India.
India now joins Japan and South Korea because the third Asian nation to have such a safety and defence partnership with the EU, aimed toward enhancing collaboration in maritime safety, cybersecurity, counterterrorism, and different rising defence domains. The new pact doesn’t restrict India’s engagement with the EU to procurement alone, with the EU now seeing India as a ptential provider in sure areas and as a companion.
India-EU safety and defence ties have deepened considerably in 2025, marked by the Leaders’ Statement from the February College of Commissioners’ go to to India, which agreed to discover a Security and Defence Partnership and included discussions between the EU Commissioner for Defence and Space and India’s Minister of State for Defence.
This momentum continued with a December 2025 delegation from the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers visiting Brussels to have interaction with the EU Commissioner, fostering industrial cooperation. In September 2025, the EU Political and Security Committee – representing all 27 member states – made its first-ever go to to Asia, holding high-level conferences in India with the Foreign Secretary, Deputy NSA, and Secretary (West) to advance strategic dialogue.
Complementing these efforts, joint naval workouts have strengthened maritime safety cooperation, together with within the Indian Ocean in June 2025, the Gulf of Guinea in October 2023, and the Gulf of Aden in June 2021, alongside collaborative escort operations for humanitarian help close to Somalia in 2018 and 2019. (ANI)