Defence delegation from India visits Nigeria; discusses enhanced military cooperation

An Indian defence delegation led by Lieutenant General Vinod Khandare, Military Adviser and National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) is on a visit to Nigeria to explore new areas of convergence for mutual engagement. The delegation is being deemed unique in its composition for incorporating representatives of NSCS, Ministry of Defence, all three Armed Forces, Ministry of External Affairs and Defence Industry deputies.

The composite delegation met pivotal Nigerian Security sector functionaries including the Defence Minister, National Security Advisor, Chief of Army Staff, political entities and defence industry delegates, where they talked about ways to boost bilateral relations between the two nations.

India-Africa defence relations based on principles of 'SAGAR'

It should be noted here that India has been trying to enhance military cooperation with African Nations in recent times.
The Defence Ministry said last week,

"The foundation of India-Africa defence relations are based on the two guiding principles namely 'SAGAR' - Security and Growth for All in the Region and 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (The world is One Family)."

The Ministry had also announced that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be hosting the Defence Ministers of African Nations in the next India-Africa Defence Dialogue on the sidelines of the 'DefExpo' (Defence Expo), a flagship biennial event of the Ministry of Defence that is scheduled to be held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, in March 2022. 

Bilateral defence dialogue stresses strengthening security cooperations

According to the Defence Ministry, the comprehensive theme of the India-Africa Defence Dialogue will be 'India-Africa: Adopting Strategy for Synergizing and Strengthing Defence and Security Cooperation.'

Lucknow, on February 6, 2020, hosted the maiden India-Africa Defence Ministers Conclave (IADMC) in collaboration with DefExpo and the event was co-organised by the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs.

The Ministry of Defence had maintained that the event was the first in the line of Pan-Africa events at the ministerial level in the run-up to India-Africa Forum Summit IV.  A joint declaration named the ‘Lucknow Declaration’ was approved following the conclusion of IADMC 2020 as a result of the conclave.

Meanwhile, the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses has been selected as the knowledge partner of the India-Africa Defence Dialogue and the organisation will help in providing the necessary support for enhanced defence cooperation between India and Africa.

Inputs: ANI

Image: ANI