New Delhi, Oct 10: India and the UK on Friday reviewed their ongoing defence engagements and discussed ways to further deepen cooperation, officials said.
Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth held a bilateral meeting with the British Minister of State for Defence (Minister for the House of Lords) Vernon Coaker, in Mumbai, they said.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the visit of the UK Carrier Strike Group (CSG) to India.
“During the meeting, both sides reviewed the ongoing defence engagements and discussed ways to further deepen cooperation between India and the United Kingdom,” the Indian defence ministry said in a statement.
Seth noted with satisfaction that the UK CSG, led by the ‘Prince of Wales’, successfully completed the sea phase of the bilateral maritime exercise ‘Konkan-25’ with the Indian Navy, off the western coast of India.
The CSG is currently engaged in the harbour phase activities at Mumbai and Goa.
Seth emphasised that such operational interactions enhance mutual understanding of operational philosophies and significantly contribute to interoperability between the two navies.
During the meeting, both the ministers reviewed the various facets of bilateral defence cooperation and discussed about India’s growing capabilities in manufacturing equipment and development of indigenous systems bolstering ‘Aatmanirbharta’, it said.
“They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen the ties in all spheres including collaboration and opportunities in Global Defence Supply Chains. They also reiterated their commitment to strengthen maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region in support of a free, open and rules-based world order to ensure freedom of navigation,” the statement said.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to a robust, multi-faceted and mutually beneficial defence partnership, guided by the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the ‘India-UK Vision 2035’, adopted during the UK visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2025.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mumbai on Thursday held wide-ranging talks with his British counterpart Keir Starmer broadly focusing on boosting the India-UK ties in areas of trade, defence and security and critical technology.
Starmer’s visit to India came two-and-half months after the two countries inked a landmark free trade pact that will increase market access, cut tariffs and is expected to result in doubling the bilateral trade by 2030. (PTI)
