Military ties vital for foreign policy: Antony

New Delhi, Feb 18 (UNI) India's approach to international defence cooperation has been reasonably effective and was in sync with the national foreign policy, Defence Minister A K Antony said today.

Addressing a national seminar on ''Defence Cooperation as a tool for enhancing National Interest'' here, he said India can claim many successes in this.

However, Mr Antony said much more could be done to create conditions of peace, stability and security in the region for economic and social development of the country and its people.

He said India has very wide ranging international defence and military cooperation. It has been used as an effective tool of foreign policy and was one of the main forms of engagement with many countries such as Russia, Singapore, the UK, the USA, France, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, Tajikistan, Oman and Bhutan.

''Obviously, the levels of military cooperation with each and every country cannot be at the same level. These would be dependent on our national interests and our foreign policy goals and priorities.

''An analysis of the levels of existing cooperation indicates that there is scope for us to further enhance international defence and military cooperation with many countries, particularly those located within India's strategic periphery,'' Mr Antony said.

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