India, France Comt on Defence Coop to meet

New Delhi, Oct 29: The tenth meeting of the India-France High Committee on Defence Cooperation (HCC) will begin here today.

The two-day meeting will be co-chaired by the Defence Secretary Vijay Singh and Thierry Borja de Mozota, Ministerial Representative of the French Defence Minister.

Issues related to joint exercises and training, technology transfer and joint development of weapon systems will be discussed during the meeting.

Three sub-committees, formed under the High Committee, will also be meeting on the sidelines.

The sub-committee on military cooperation will roll out the plan for service to service cooperation activities for the next year.

The sub-committee on defence industry procurement and research and technology will discuss matters of transfer of technology, joint development, production and research while the sub-committee on strategic issues will discuss matters of mutual strategic interest.

The HCC was set up in 1998 following the Defence Cooperation Working Group which was set up under a bilateral MoU on supply of defence equipment signed in France in January 1982.

The HCC meetings have been held every year, alternately in India and France. The ninth meeting of the HCC was held on November 9 last year in Paris.

ANI
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