Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane and Italian Secretary General of Defence & National Armament Director Lt Gen Luciano Portolano co-chaired the 10^th India-Italy Joint Defence Committee (JDC) meeting in New Delhi on March 13, 2024. Both sides discussed a wide range of defence industrial and military cooperation issues. They also exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific and the security situations.

The focus of the meeting was to enhance defence industrial cooperation. India and Italy had signed an agreement on defence cooperation in October 2023 during the visit of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh to Italy. With the agreement providing the overarching framework to deepen the bilateral defence relationship, both sides discussed ways and means to bring the defence companies of both the countries together for joint projects, including for co-production in India.

The Defence Secretary suggested the integration of Indian vendors in the global supply chains of Italian defence companies to bring value to both sides and improve the supply chain resilience.

***

ABB/Savvy