Big defence boost! India and Brunei kick off new military partnership in Delhi

Key areas that were discussed include expansion of military-to-military exchanges and joint training, maritime security collaboration, with focus on safety of sea lanes and Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief, capacity building, opportunities for defence industry collaboration and technology cooperation.

The meeting was co-chaired by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Amitabh Prasad and Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Brunei Poh Kui Choon.

Prior to the meeting, the co-chairs signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the establishment of JWG on defence cooperation.

The signing of the ToR marked the beginning of a new era of bilateral defence cooperation.

The JWG serves as a constructive platform to review ongoing defence engagements and explore new avenues for cooperation.

Both sides welcomed the growing momentum in the defence partnership and agreed to implement a structured roadmap for cooperation under the JWG mechanism.

They reaffirmed their shared commitment to maintaining peace, stability, and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.

The visiting Deputy Permanent Secretary also called on Defence Secretary  Rajesh Kumar Singh in New Delhi, as part of his two-day visit.

Poh Kui Choon also visited DPSU Bhawan which is a new, state-of-the-art facility recently inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi as a central hub for all 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings to foster collaboration, innovation, and showcase India’s defence manufacturing capabilities to the world.