Defence Minister Rajnath Singh meets his German counterpart Pistorius, holds bilateral talks

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his German counterpart Boris Pistorius, who is on a four day visit to India and held bilateral meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. As per reports, the duo is going to discuss issues such as defence cooperation issues, with a focus on industrial cooperation. Pistorius laid a wreath at National War Memorial in Delhi and was also accorded a Guard of Honour at Maneskshaw Centre in the presence of Rajnath Singh in the national capital.

Rajnath Singh also took to Twitter to share photos with his German counterpart and hail him for his passion for Yoga. The Minister wrote, “Had fruitful discussions with the German Defence Minister, Mr Boris Pistorius. His passion for Yoga is commendable. We discussed regional issues and our shared priorities. We also agreed to further strengthen defence co-operation between India & Germany.”

The Minisry of Defence earlier said in its statement that Pistorius is likely to meet a few defence start-ups during an event prganissed by Innovations for Defence excellence (iDEX) in Delhi. He is accompanied by a German delegation.

The Ger,am Federal Minister of Defence is also slated to visit India on June 7 but he is likely to visit Western Naval Command Headqauarters and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, according to a report in Germann news agency Deutsche Welle, Pistorius said India’ continuing dependence on Russian weapons is not in Germany’s interest. “This is an issue we have to solve jointly with other partners. But of course, we can’t have an interest in the long run that India is so dependednt of Russia’s delivery of weapons or other materials,” he said in an exclusive interview with DW’s political correspondent Nina Hase in Jakarta.