The inaugural Army-to-Army Staff Talks between the Indian Army and the Ethiopian Army have concluded in Pune, marking what the Indian Army called a significant milestone in strengthening bilateral military cooperation, IANS reported. The Army's Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) announced the conclusion of the talks in a post on X on Friday.
Source: IANS via NewKerala — Inaugural India-Ethiopia army-to-army staff talks held in Pune
"The talks focused on enhancing professional engagement, capacity building, defence technology, innovation and exploring new avenues of cooperation," the ADGPI said, as quoted by IANS. The Ethiopian delegation also visited Indian defence industries, gaining insights into India's indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities and its growing start-up ecosystem, which the Army linked to progress under Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Source: IANS via NewKerala — Inaugural India-Ethiopia army-to-army staff talks held in Pune
The Pune engagement follows the second India-Ethiopia Joint Defence Cooperation Meeting held in Addis Ababa last month, co-chaired by Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Sanjay Kumar and Major General Teshome Gemechu, Director General for Defence Foreign Relations and Military Cooperation of Ethiopia, IANS reported.
Source: IANS via hi INDiA — Inaugural India-Ethiopia army-to-army staff talks held in Pune
At that meeting, officials of the two countries discussed military training, military exercises, medical cooperation, peacekeeping and defence industries, and agreed to expand cooperation through exchange of personnel from training institutes, exploration of joint ventures in defence production, delegation visits and experience-sharing, according to a Ministry of Defence statement cited by IANS.
Source: IANS via hi INDiA — Inaugural India-Ethiopia army-to-army staff talks held in Pune
The mechanism works under the Defence Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries' defence ministers in February last year; the first Joint Defence Cooperation meeting was held in New Delhi in October last year. The Ministry has described Ethiopia as an important defence partner of India, with the partnership dating back to 1958.
Source: IANS via NewKerala — Inaugural India-Ethiopia army-to-army staff talks held in Pune