The India-Egypt Joint Defence Committee (JDC) held productive discussions towards enhancing bilateral defence cooperation during its 11th meeting in Cairo, Egypt, which concluded yesterday. The Defence Ministry said that during the discussion, both sides undertook a comprehensive review of the progress made since the previous committee meeting and charted out a forward-looking roadmap for defence engagement.
It said that they agreed on a bilateral defence cooperation plan for 2026-27, focusing on expanding Structured Military interaction mechanisms, strengthening Joint training exchanges, enhancing maritime security cooperation, increasing the scope and complexity of military exercises and promoting collaboration in defence production and technology. The Ministry said that the two sides also agreed to work together to develop a defence industry cooperation plan. The Defence Industry collaboration is emerging as a key pillar of India-Egypt defence ties, with both sides exploring opportunities for co-development and co-production in the field of defence manufacturing.
The inaugural Navy-to-Navy Staff talks were held on the sidelines of the meeting. The role played by the Indian Navy in promoting freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean region was presented, and the key role played by India’s Information Fusion Centre in promoting maritime security was highlighted. The Indian delegation also called on the Commander of the Egyptian Air Force, Lieutenant General Amr Abdel Rahman Saqr. The delegation thanked the EAF Commander for the close cooperation between the Air Forces of the two countries.
