Rajnath Singh chairs meeting with Iranian counterpart; discusses bilateral cooperation

On Saturday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Amir Hatami. The Indian Defence Minister was on a transit halt in Tehran en route from Moscow to New Delhi. 

Rajnath Singh had earlier also held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Russia, China and the Central Asian countries. Both the leaders emphasized upon the age-old cultural, linguistic and civilizational ties between India and Iran. They discussed ways to take bilateral cooperation forward and exchanged views on regional security issues, including peace and stability in Afghanistan.

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Rajnath Singh meets Defence Minister of Tajikistan

Rajnath Singh met his Tajikistan counterpart in Moscow on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. Rajnath Singh and the Defence Minister of Tajikistan, Colonel-General Sherali Mirzo discussed India-Tajikistan Defence relations. Singh tweeted pictures from the event and called it 'an extremely fruitful meeting'. He also met the Defence Ministers of other Central Asian countries during the SCO summit to boost the defence cooperation. 

India and Tajikistan are on friendly terms since the beginning and share great cultural as well as strategic and military ties aside from bilateral trade cooperation. India's first overseas military base has been built in Farkhor, Tajikistan. India has trained 35 Tajik cadets and 67 young officers at the National Defence Academy, Pune and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and other training bases to induct them in the Tajik forces. India has also set up a military hospital in Tajikistan. 

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(Image credits: @PIB_India)