New Delhi — Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday hosted Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto for wide-ranging discussions on defence cooperation and the evolving situation in West Asia. Posting about the meeting, Singh said he was “happy to have welcomed” Crosetto in Delhi and noted that the talks covered regional and global issues, including West Asia, and explored ways to deepen defence-industrial collaboration under India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and Italy’s defence cooperation efforts.
The two ministers exchanged a Bilateral Military Cooperation Plan (MCP) for 2026–27 outlining planned military engagements between the armed forces of both countries. Crosetto, on his first visit to India, also laid a wreath at the National War Memorial and inspected the Guard of Honour.
Officials said the visit underlines both countries’ intent to expand existing cooperation and identify new areas for industrial partnership. Observers note that the January 2026 signing of the India–EU Security and Defence Partnership has boosted momentum for defence-industrial collaboration between India and European partners, including Italy.
India and Italy’s defence relationship has broadened beyond high-level dialogue to include service-to-service ties, training exchanges, defence equipment exports, information sharing, port calls, naval exercises and maritime security cooperation. A Defence Cooperation agreement was signed after Singh’s visit to Italy in 2023 when he and Crosetto held bilateral talks.
Earlier this year, India and the European Union concluded a landmark Security and Defence Partnership, the first comprehensive defence and security framework between the two sides. The accord, welcomed in a joint statement after the 16th India–EU Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, is intended to strengthen cooperation in maritime security, defence industry and technology, cyber and hybrid threats, space, counterterrorism and other areas.
(This report is based on a syndicated feed and is published as received.)
