Rajnath Singh and South Korean Defence Minister discuss ‘bilateral defence cooperation’

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and South Korean Defence Minister Jeong Kyeong-Doo held a telephonic conversation on Friday

• Both countries discuss progress in bilateral defence cooperation, also both shared views on 'regional developments of shared security interests'

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday spoke over telephone with Minister of National Defence of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Jeong Kyeong-Doo on Friday. Both ministers reviewed the progress on various bilateral defence cooperation initiatives and expressed commitment to further promote defence cooperation engagements between the Armed Forces. South Korea, a neighbouring country of China has been one of the major supplier of weapons and military equipment to India for the past several years. The phonecall between the Defence Ministers of India and South Korea has taken place at a time when there is an on-going tension on India's Line of Actual Control with China. The press statement issued by the Ministry of Defence immediately after the phone-call said, "Views on the regional developments of shared security interests were also shared during the telephonic call". However, it did not explicitly say whether the border issues were discussed as well. 

"The two Defence Ministers had discussions on issues pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Rajnath Singh informed Mr JeongKyeong-Doo on India's contribution to international efforts against COVID-19 and discussed areas of mutual cooperation in the global fight against the pandemic. The Ministers agreed to work together to deal with the complex challenges posed by this pandemic" said a press statement issued by the Ministry of Defence.

"During the telephonic conversation, the Ministers reviewed the progress on various bilateral defence cooperation initiatives and expressed commitment to further promote defence cooperation engagements between the Armed Forces. It was also agreed to take forward the agreements in the field of defence industry and defence technology cooperation between the two countries" it added. 

Last year, the both India and South Kore had finalised a roadmap for defence cooperation in joint production of various land and naval systems.

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