Gandhinagar, Oct 18 (UNI) The India-Africa Defence Dialogue began here on Tuesday on the sidelines of India's biggest ever five day long defence exhibition DefExpo 2022.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is hosting the Defence Ministers of African Nations with a broad theme 'India-Africa: Adopting Strategy for Synergising and Strengthening Defence and Security Cooperation'.
"When I refer to you all as my brothers and sisters, I draw it from the history of close fraternal ties, which bind us together," said Rajnath Singh addressing his counterparts from African countries during the Dialogue.
"India and Africa share close and historical ties. India's approach towards Africa is guided by the Kampala Principles enunciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018. India’s engagement rests on African priorities as outlined by Africans themselves," the Defence Ministry said.
The first-ever India-Africa Defence Ministers Conclave was held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in conjunction with DefExpo on February 06, 2020. A Joint Declaration - ‘Lucknow Declaration’ - was adopted at the end of the conclave as an outcome document.
In continuance of the ‘Lucknow Declaration’ and in consultation with stakeholders, India-Africa Defence Dialogue has been institutionalised to be held once every two years on the sidelines of DefExpo.
The India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD) will explore new areas of convergence for mutual engagement, including in areas like capacity building, training, cyber security, maritime security and counter terrorism.
Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) is the knowledge partner for the India-Africa Defence Dialogue.
Before the India-Africa Defence Dialogue, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also held bilateral meetings on Monday with his counterparts from Africa who arrived here to attend the Dialogue and the DefExpo 2022.
The entire spectrum of defence cooperation was discussed during the meetings, with focus on identifying avenues to expand mutually beneficial collaboration, the Defence Ministry said.
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