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India-UAE strategic bilateral meeting marked a mutual commitment to scale up defense cooperation alongside expanding economic and social engagement.

Published on: July 31, 2025

Edited on: July 31, 2025

India-UAE maritime ties

Image Courtesy: X @IndiaCoastGuard

New Delhi: India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have reaffirmed their commitment to advancing defense ties during the 13th meeting of the Joint Defense Cooperation Committee (JDCC), held in New Delhi.

The key bilateral meeting, co-chaired at the secretary level for the first time, witnessed both sides agreeing to elevate defense cooperation in step with the rising momentum across trade, investment, and social sectors.

Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh led the Indian side, while the UAE delegation was headed by Lt General Ibrahim Nasser M Al Alawi, Under Secretary of Defense, who is currently on a two-day official visit to India.

In a statement, the Indian Ministry of Defense noted that both sides resolved to expand military training collaboration, agreeing to align their respective training programs. India also offered to provide customized training modules tailored to meet specific UAE defense needs.

Maritime security cooperation featured prominently in the discussions. The two countries agreed to deepen coordination through real-time information sharing, with an emphasis on enhancing operational synergy between their naval and coast guard forces.

The talks further explored opportunities for defense industrial partnerships and service-to-service engagements. A key takeaway was the joint interest in replicating successful collaborative models such as the small arms manufacturing partnership between India’s ICOMM and the UAE’s CARACAL.

Defense technology innovation was also on the agenda, with both nations exploring potential co-development of next-generation platforms in areas such as artificial intelligence. Opportunities in shipbuilding, platform upgrades, maintenance, and refits were identified as priority areas for cooperation.

India and the UAE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indian Coast Guard and the UAE National Guard in a significant step towards operationalizing maritime collaboration.

maritime ties India-UAE
Image Courtesy: X @IndiaCoastGuard

The agreement establishes a framework for joint efforts in search and rescue operations, maritime pollution response, anti-piracy operations, and broader maritime domain awareness.

In the lead-up to the JDCC, the two nations also held a series of high-level military engagements, including the fourth Army-to-Army talks, ninth Navy-to-Navy meeting, and the inaugural Air-to-Air staff discussions. These interactions focused on enhancing joint military exercises, subject matter expert exchanges, and training initiatives.

The visiting UAE delegation is also scheduled to meet Minister of State for Defense Sanjay Seth and participate in the second India-UAE Defense Industry Partnership Forum, which will be co-inaugurated by UAE’s Lt Gen Al Alawi and India’s Secretary (Defense Production) Sanjeev Kumar.

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