India and Saudi Arabia will explore the joint development and production of weapons and equipment to control rising imports. This
decision followed Feb. 14 discussions in Riyadh between visiting Indian
Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Saudi Defense Minister Prince Salman
Bin, said sources in the Indian Defence Ministry.
Antony led an
official two-day visit to Saudi Arabia Feb. 13-14, heading a defense
team that included Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma; Lt. Gen. S.K.
Singh, the Army vice chief; and Vice Adm. Satish Soni, the deputy Navy
chief An Indian Defence Ministry official said India and Saudi
Arabia have decided to set up a panel to work out the path to defense
cooperation.
“At the delegation-level talks, India and Saudi
Arabia decided to set up a Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation to
work out the contours of the relationship,” said Sitanshu Kar, a
spokesman with the Defence Ministry. India meets up to 70 percent
of its weapon and equipment requirements through imports, and defense
planners want to reduce that to less than 50 percent. India plans to
spend about $100 billion on weapons and equipment during the next five
years.
While no details on the proposed joint weapon development
with Saudi Arabia are known, sources said the two countries have agreed
in principle to boost joint ventures. Antony and Salman Bin agreed
to establish a joint committee to work out the details of future
defense cooperation, including an agreement in the defense sector, said
another Defence Ministry official. Salman Bin agreed with Antony’s
suggestion that a Saudi delegation visit Indian defense production
facilities in the near future, the official said. Currently, India is studying a Saudi proposal to set up a mountain warfare training school in Saudi Arabia.
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