New Delhi: A bilateral meeting was held on June 6 between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius. Pistorius is on a four-day visit to India.

The focus of the meeting was industrial cooperation. Pistorius planned to meet a few defence start-ups during an event organised by Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) in New Delhi. He accorded a Guard of Honour at Manekshaw Centre and laid a wreath at National War Memorial.

While saying Germany is ready to support India, “I want to send a signal that we are willing to support our partners, our reliable partners like Indonesia, like India.”

He added, “This is an issue we have to solve jointly with other partners. But of course, we can’t have an interest in the long run that India is so dependent on Russia’s delivery of weapons or other materials.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, German counterpart Boris Pistorius hold bilateral talks

Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/VnTBwazayG#RajnathSingh #BorisPistorius #Germany pic.twitter.com/pRcs7fUuoa

— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) June 6, 2023

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, bilateral ties between India and Germany are based on shared democratic ideals and are characterised by a high level of trust and mutual respect. After WWII, India was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Germany.

The German Federal Minister of Defence will go to Mumbai on June 7 to visit the Western Naval Command Headquarters and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited.

The German Defence Minister stated ahead of his visit to India that India’s continued reliance on Russian weapons is not in Germany’s best interests.

Also Read: Covid Update: Brake on Covid spread in India; 124 new cases, 2 deaths in 24 hours