New defence agreement between UK and India

Defence Minister Stuart Andrew has announced that the UK will strengthen defence ties with India through a renewed Memorandum of Understanding.

At bilateral defence and security equipment talks in London this week, the two nations agreed to re-double efforts to identify mutual defence and security capability needs and collaborate on solutions. By collaborating and exploiting procurement opportunities together, both nations will be able to benefit from technological and manufacturing capabilities and support long-term cooperation between their defence and security industries.

Air Marshal Richard Knighton signed the Defence Equipment Memorandum on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence, while Shri Barun Mitra, Additional Secretary Defence Production at the Ministry of Defence, signed on behalf of the Indian Government.

Andrew said: “As major world economies, Britain and India both have a proud global maritime history, with impressive futures ahead. The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding underpins the collaboration between our two nations, building on our defence ties, and ensuring our nations are able to combat emerging threats for generations to come.”