UK-India Defence Industry CEO’s roundtable: Co-chaired by Rajnath Singh & Grant Shapps

“India envisions an enriching partnership with UK to co-operate, co-create & co-innovate”. Rajnath Singh

Shyam Sood

Rajouri-(New Delhi), January 10: During his visit to the United Kingdom, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday co-chaired a UK-India Defence Industry CEOs Roundtable with his British counterpart Grant Shapps at an event in Trinity House (London).
The UK-India Defence Industry CEOs Roundtable was attended by many CEOs from UK defence industry; UK MoD officials; Chair, UK India Business Council; and CII India representatives.
Major companies represented were BAE Systems, GE Vernova, James Fisher Defence, Leonardo S.p.A., Martin Baker Aircraft Company Ltd, SAAB UK, Thales UK, Ultra-Maritime Rolls-Royce, ADS Group, and MBDA UK.
The meeting was also attended by UK Minister of State for Defence Procurement, Mr James Cartildge.
The Roundtable included thematic discussions on strengthening the India-UK defence industrial relationship.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh welcomed the investment and technology collaboration from the UK and said: “India is ready with a skilled human resource base, a robust pro-FDI and pro-business ecosystem, and a huge domestic market,”.
“Under the visionary leadership of PM Narendra Modi, India is surging ahead on the path of becoming a developed economy by 2047. The ambition is backed by a clear-headed roadmap to chart the course and is backed by the collective willpower of 1.4 billion Indians to stay the course.,” he asserted.
Highlighting the importance of the India-UK ties, Rajnath Singh said there is a symbiotic relationship between the two countries and the Government of India envisions an enriching partnership with UK to cooperate, co-create and co-innovate.
“By synergising the strengths of our nations, we can do great things together,” he said.
Mr Grant Shapps agreed with the statement of Rajnath Singh regarding the symbiotic relationship between India and UK. Mr Grant Shapps further stated that the ties transcend the normal buyer-seller relationship and is fundamentally a strategic partnership.
The industry leaders from the UK outlined their current and future plans for India. Aero-engines, Electric
Propulsion, missiles, power-packs, and maritime systems were identified as some of the focus areas of joint work.
The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh noted the positivity and enthusiasm of UK CEOs & business leaders on working in India and with the Indian companies.
On Tuesday Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with Mr Grant Shapps. Emphasis was on enhancing defence industrial cooperation between the two countries.
The bilateral meeting was followed by the signing of two agreements between India and UK – an MoU on conduct of bilateral international cadet exchange programme, and a Letter of Arrangement between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) on defence collaboration in research and development.
The Raksha Mantri also paid floral tributes to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi at his statue at Tavistock Square & also visited the Ambedkar House in London and paid tributes to Dr BR Ambedkar where he lived between 1921 & 1922.
“It is a great experience to visit the memorial of the creator of the venerable Constitution of India, the guiding light of our Republic” Rajnath Singh noted in the Visitor’s Book.
Rajnath Singh also visited the Sri Swaminarayan temple at Neasden and paid his respects.
He is scheduled to meet UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak & UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Cameron on Wednesday