New Delhi : India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have reaffirmed their strong commitment to deepening bilateral defence cooperation during the 13th meeting of the India-UAE Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC), held for the first time at the Secretary level in New Delhi.
The meeting was co-chaired by India’s Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh and Lt General Ibrahim Nasser M. Al Alawi, UAE’s Under Secretary of Defence, who is leading a high-level delegation on a two-day official visit to India.
Reflecting the growing momentum in India-UAE relations—across trade, investment, and people-to-people linkages both sides agreed to elevate defence ties to a new strategic level.
Key highlights from the meeting included an agreement to enhance military training cooperation, with India offering customised training modules tailored to the UAE’s operational needs. The two nations also committed to strengthening maritime security collaboration through real-time information sharing mechanisms.
The deliberations also focused on expanding defence industrial partnerships and Service-to-Service engagements. Both sides agreed to pursue joint manufacturing initiatives, drawing inspiration from the ICOMM (India)–CARACAL (UAE) collaboration on small arms production.
Discussions extended to the co-development of next-generation defence technologies in cutting-edge domains such as Artificial Intelligence, and to cooperation in shipbuilding, including refits, upgrades, and maintenance of shared platforms.
A significant outcome was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indian Coast Guard and the UAE National Guard. The agreement provides a framework for enhanced cooperation in search and rescue operations, pollution response, anti-piracy missions, and other critical areas of maritime security.
In the lead-up to the JDCC meeting, both countries conducted a series of Staff Talks in New Delhi from July 28–29, 2025, including the:
- 4th Army-to-Army Talks
- 9th Navy-to-Navy Talks
- Inaugural Air-to-Air Staff Talks
These discussions focused on expanding joint military exercises, training, and Subject Matter Expert (SME) exchanges between the two-armed forces.
The visiting UAE delegation is scheduled to call on Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Sanjay Seth on July 31, and will also participate in the 2nd India-UAE Defence Industry Partnership Forum, co-inaugurated by Lt Gen Al Alawi and Shri Sanjeev Kumar, India’s Secretary (Defence Production). The forum aims to foster greater industry-to-industry linkages and innovation-led collaboration.
India and the UAE share a robust and evolving defence relationship, anchored in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established during Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s historic visit to the UAE in 2015. India’s upcoming participation in the Dubai Air Show in November 2025 is expected to further strengthen this growing defence cooperation.
