India, South Korea deepen defence partnership with new MoUs, industry push during Rajnath Singh’s Seoul visit

By Aroonim Bhuyan

New Delhi/Seoul, May 20. India and South Korea on May 20 agreed to significantly expand their defence cooperation, signing a series of agreements and outlining new pathways for joint development, production and innovation during talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his South Korean counterpart Ahn Gyu-back in Seoul.

The comprehensive discussions reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral defence ties and explored avenues for deeper collaboration in defence industry, maritime security, emerging technologies, military exchanges, logistics and regional security. Both sides noted the growing alignment between India’s Act East Policy and South Korea’s regional strategic outlook, reaffirming their commitment to a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific.

Several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed to widen the scope of engagement. These included agreements on defence cyber cooperation, institutionalised training exchanges between India’s National Defence College and Korea National Defence University, and collaboration in UN peacekeeping operations, giving the partnership a broader and more multidimensional character.

Rajnath Singh also met Lee Yong-chul, head of South Korea’s Defence Acquisition Programme Administration, where both leaders discussed creating opportunities for joint development, joint production and joint exports. They deliberated on a roadmap to operationalise the India-Korea Defence Innovation Accelerator Ecosystem (KIND-X) to better integrate the innovation ecosystems of the two countries.

Later, the Defence Minister chaired the India-RoK Defence Industry Business Roundtable, bringing together senior officials and leading defence companies from both sides. The interaction focused on expanding cooperation in defence manufacturing, co-development, co-production and supply chain partnerships. He invited Korean firms to work closely with Indian industry under the government’s push for indigenous defence manufacturing and long-term global partnerships.

Highlighting the changing nature of defence production, Rajnath Singh said modern military capability is increasingly driven by advanced electronics, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, cyber technologies, sensors, semiconductors, quantum technologies, advanced materials and space-based assets. He stressed that India’s vibrant ecosystem of startups, MSMEs, academia, research institutions and public sector enterprises offers significant scope for innovation-led collaboration with South Korea.

During the event, two agreements were signed between India’s Larsen & Toubro and South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace, aimed at enhancing technology cooperation, capacity building and industry linkages in the defence sector.

Interacting with the Indian diaspora, the Defence Minister underlined India’s rising global profile and assertive security posture, reiterating the government’s commitment to self-reliance in defence. He noted that India recorded defence production worth about ₹1.54 lakh crore and exports nearing ₹40,000 crore in FY 2025-26, with exports expected to touch ₹50,000 crore in the next one to two years.

At the start of his visit – the final leg of a two-nation tour – Rajnath Singh laid a wreath at the Korean War Cemetery in Seoul, paying tribute to soldiers who died during the Korean War and expressing India’s solidarity with the people of South Korea.