A ministerial-level delegation led by MoD Deputy State Secretary for Defence Economy Dr. Gábor Márki conducted negotiations in India between November 2 and 4 of 2011. The main goal of the visit was to hold the next session of the Hungarian–Indian Joint Military Commission with Co-chairman Shekhar Agarwal, the Secretary of Defence Production of the Indian Ministry of Defence.

We renewed the bilateral military-to-military relations with India in 2003 by signing a co-operation agreement, the implementation of which in practice is controlled by the joint commission sitting annually. The duties of the Co-chairman are discharged by the MoD Deputy State Secretary for Defence Economy of the day. In the meeting the representatives of the two Defence Ministries examined the results of the co-operation achieved until now in the fields of education, countering nuclear, chemical and biological attacks and tank overhaul.

photo: MoD Deputy State Secretariat for Defence Economy

In what followed they identified the major future areas upon which they will focus in the course of the co-operation in the coming period. Such topics are for instance: the renewal of the military technology systems, the modernization of the Soviet/Russian type armoured combat vehicles and the radar systems, the exchange of the experts’ experiences, military medicine and the establishment of joint ventures, the R&D projects, and the utilization of the equipment withdrawn from use.

The next regular session of the Hungarian–Indian Joint Military Commission will be held in the fall of 2012 in Budapest. During the three-day-visit the members of the Hungarian delegation had talks with the representatives of the R&D institutes and companies subordinated to the Indian Ministry of Defence, and with the leaders of several privately owned defence industrial companies as well.

The Hungarian Government regards India as one of its most important partners in Asia. The negotiations of the portfolio also prepare the agenda related to defence and armaments for the Prime Minister’s visit to India, planned for the first quarter of 2012. As for the Hungarian companies, the appearance on the DefExpo 2012 Defence Technology and Products Exhibition of worldwide rank, to be staged in New Delhi between March 29 and April 1, 2012, may provide a new possibility for the further development of the defence industrial relations.

(Ministry of Defence)