Rajnath Singh, Catherine Vautrin to co-chair 6th India-France Defence Dialogue in Bengaluru
New Delhi, February 15. India and France are set to deepen their long-standing defence partnership as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and French Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Catherine Vautrin will co-chair the 6th India-France Annual Defence Dialogue in Bengaluru on February 17.
The high-level meeting will review the full spectrum of bilateral defence cooperation, with a strong emphasis on expanding industrial collaboration between the two countries.
Defence pact renewal, Hammer missile JV on agenda
During the dialogue, the two sides are expected to renew their existing defence cooperation agreement for another 10 years. An important highlight of the visit is likely to be the signing of a memorandum of understanding for a joint venture to manufacture Hammer missiles in India, in the presence of both Defence Ministers.
An announcement is also anticipated regarding the reciprocal deployment of officers at Indian Army and French Land Forces establishments, aimed at strengthening institutional and operational linkages.
The two ministers are further scheduled to witness the virtual inauguration of the H125 Light Utility Helicopter Final Assembly Line of Tata Airbus at Vemagal in Karnataka. The facility will be jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Defence ties a key pillar of bilateral relations
Defence cooperation has traditionally been a cornerstone of India-France relations. The strength of the partnership was underlined in recent years by high-profile exchanges, including Prime Minister Modi’s participation as Guest of Honour at France’s Bastille Day Parade in July 2023 and President Macron’s visit to India as Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade in 2024.
Military-to-military engagement between the two countries has steadily increased, with regular joint exercises across services. These include Exercise Shakti between the armies, Exercise Varuna between the navies, and Exercise Garuda involving the air forces, along with several other operational engagements.
The dialogue also comes in the backdrop of the recently launched India-EU Security and Defence Partnership, which is expected to further expand India’s engagement with European partners.
This will be Catherine Vautrin’s first visit to India since assuming office on October 12, 2025. The India-France Annual Defence Dialogue is a structured ministerial-level mechanism aimed at reviewing and guiding bilateral defence and security cooperation. The previous edition of the dialogue was held in France in October 2023.
