India & Rwanda hold First-ever Joint Defence Cooperation Committee Meeting

New Delhi: India and Rwanda had their first Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, on Thursday. According to the Defence Ministry, the talks between the stakeholders were mainly focused on how they can work together better on defence.

Discussions in the inaugural meeting were based on training, conducting military exercises together, and assisting each other in building military equipment. According to the MoD, the Indian delegation during the meeting underlined India’s growing capabilities in domestic defence manufacturing to facilitate exports to friendly countries.

The Rwandan side, following the meeting as per the statement, has shown ‘keen’ interest in increasing cooperation between the two nations for the purpose of training its armed forces. Furthermore, the Rwandan delegation highlighted the key areas to the Indian side where both the Indian Armed Forces and respective Indian industries could collaborate with their Rwandan counterparts under the 2018 Memorandum of Understanding when India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Rwanda.

Before the meeting, the Indian group met with Rwanda's Defense Minister, Marizamunda Juvenal, and conveyed Defense Minister Rajnath Singh’s greetings to him. The Indian group was led by Joint Secretary Amitabh Prasad. Other individuals from India's Defence Ministry and Armed Forces were part of the delegation, including Nilratan Mridha, who works at the Indian Embassy in Kigali.