Rajnath Singh To Depart For 4-Day France, Italy Visit Today, Defence Cooperation On Agenda

<p><strong>New Delhi:</strong> Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will depart for a four-day visit to Italy and France starting Monday in a bid to expand bilateral engagement in strategic affairs and explore avenues of cooperation for the joint development of military hardware, news agency PTI reported.</p> <p>As part of his two-day visit, the Defence Minister will travel to the Italian capital, Rome, where he will hold discussions with his Italian counterpart Guido Crisetto, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) informed through a statement.</p> <p>The relationship between the two countries was elevated to the level of strategic partnership in March during Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni&rsquo;s visit to India.</p> <p>"Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Italy and France from October 9 to 12, " the Defence Ministry said.</p> <p>On the second leg of his visit, the Defence Minister will attend the fifth annual India-France defence dialogue with his French counterpart Sebastian Lecornu.</p> <p>"India and France recently celebrated 25 years of strategic partnership. Both countries enjoy a deep and wide-ranging bilateral defence relationship, including significant industrial cooperation," the defence ministry said in a statement.</p> <p>"In both Rome and Paris, the defence minister will also interact with the defence industry CEOs and senior representatives to discuss potential opportunities for industrial cooperation," the statement added.</p> <p>Further, according to officials, the potential for joint development of military platforms will be central to Singh&rsquo;s discussions in Rome and Paris.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, Eric Trappier, is set to visit the national capital later this week to discuss various aspects of India&rsquo;s purchase of 26 naval variants of the Rafale fighter jet, PTI reported, citing people aware of the matter.</p> <p>According to the PTI report, Trappier will arrive in Delhi on Monday on a two-day trip and will hold preliminary discussions on the proposed purchase of the naval variant of the fighters.</p> <p>In July, India and France announced several ground-breaking defence cooperation projects, including the joint development of jet and helicopter engines and construction of three Scorpene submarines for the Indian Navy, PTI reported.</p>

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