UK and India Strengthen Defence Partnership with Key Meetings and Proposals
The UK India Business Council (UKIBC) recently hosted a delegation of senior representatives from the UK’s Ministry of Defence, Defence and Security Exports, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and leading defence companies. The goal was to enhance the bilateral defence industry partnership and reaffirm the commitment to India as a strategic partner.
UKIBC is a not-for-profit organization focused on growing UK-India trade and investment. During a week of events, the UK delegation participated in UKIBC’s UK industry roundtable with the Indian defence ministry to discuss enabling policy frameworks. They also attended the Third UK-India Joint Working Group Meeting, held in partnership with the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM), to explore the next frontiers of defence technology collaboration.
Key figures at the event included Shimon Fhima, Director Strategic Programmes, UK Ministry of Defence; Rajeev Prakash, Joint Secretary-Naval Systems, Department of Defence Production; Brigadier Marut Shukla, Deputy General Acquisition Technical (Army) Acquisition Wing; Col. Shailender Arya, Director (International Cooperation), Ministry of Defence; Rosie Grieves, Deputy Director and India Coordinator, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK; and Frank Clifford, Head, Americas and Asia Pacific, UK Defence and Security Exports, Department for Business and Trade.
They discussed ways to enhance UK-India industrial engagement, exploring specific areas of business-to-business collaboration and opportunities, encouraging more joint ventures between UK and Indian firms, and the role of emerging and critical technology in the defence sector. The meeting resulted in actionable proposals to be developed and presented to both governments.
Richard McCallum, Group Chief Executive Officer of UKIBC, stated, “Our deliberations generated actionable suggestions to take the defence manufacturing relationship forward, including collaboration in the technologies of the future.” He added that British industry appreciates India’s focus on indigenisation, building reliable defence technology supply chains, and providing its forces with the capabilities needed for modernization. UK companies are starting to see India as a strategic partner, integrated into their research, technology, and supply chains. UK firms stand to benefit from India’s cost-effective manufacturing, while India can accelerate its industrial development with support from mature defence markets like the UK.
Doubts Revealed
UK India Business Council -: This is a group that helps businesses in the UK and India work together. They organize meetings and events to improve trade and partnerships between the two countries.
delegation -: A delegation is a group of people chosen to represent a larger group. In this case, people from the UK’s Ministry of Defence came to India to talk about working together on defence projects.
Ministry of Defence -: This is a part of the government that takes care of a country’s military and defence. In the UK, it is responsible for the army, navy, and air force.
policy frameworks -: These are rules and guidelines that help shape how things are done. In this context, it means the rules for how the UK and India will work together on defence projects.
defence technology collaboration -: This means working together to create and improve technology used for military purposes, like new weapons or equipment.
industrial engagement -: This means getting companies involved in working together on projects. Here, it refers to UK and Indian companies working together on defence projects.
joint ventures -: This is when two or more companies or organizations work together on a project. In this case, UK and Indian companies might team up to create new defence technology.
Richard McCallum -: He is a person who works for the UK India Business Council. He talked about how both the UK and India can benefit from working together on defence projects.
indigenisation -: This means making things within your own country instead of buying them from other countries. India wants to make more of its own defence equipment.
modernization -: This means updating and improving things to make them better and more current. India wants to update its military equipment to be more advanced.
