India, Mozambique enter defence cooperation

Defense Minister Shri Rajnath Singh made an official visit to Maputo, Mozambique, in the last week of July, accompanied by a high-level delegation. After delegation-level talks with his counterpart, Atanasio Salvador M’tumuke, the two countries signed two preliminary agreements whereby the nations agreed to work together to prevent non-traditional threats such as smuggling, terrorism, piracy, poaching, among others. and enhance the overall security in the Indian Ocean Region. The agreements are expected to further strengthen the ongoing Indo-Mozambican defence cooperation.

India has increasingly focussed on strengthening its defence infrastructure and entering into defence cooperation with other nations.  The Central Government has also been focussing on defence research, development and manufacturing to cater to national requirements as well as exports. With the goal to ensuring self-reliance in defence manufacturing, this year in the Union budget for fiscal 2019-20, the Government allotted a record-high sum of more than US$44.7 billion for defence and security or a 6.9 per cent  rise from last year. This will boost India’s international defence agreements. 

In November last year, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had launched the “Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti” to migrate from the culture of seeking Transfer of Technology (ToT) from foreign sources to generating Intellectual Property in India. This will fundamentally shift the nature of defence security that India will achieve in the years to come whereby there will be indigenous technology created within the country.