India, Italy to deepen defence ties with Rajnath Singh–Crosetto talks in Delhi

India, Italy to deepen defence ties as India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will hold bilateral talks with Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto in New Delhi on April 30, the Indian Ministry of Defence announced on April 29. The meeting is expected to cover a broad range of defence cooperation issues, with discussions also focusing on regional and global security challenges “in view of the evolving security landscape.”

India and Italy move closer on defence, as Rajnath Singh and Guido Crosetto focus on co-production, innovation, and shared security priorities.

Bilateral Defence Agenda

According to the Ministry of Defence press release, the talks will address “a range of issues covering defence cooperation between the two countries”. Singh and Crosetto are expected to review ongoing projects and discuss new initiatives to strengthen the India–Italy defence partnership. The discussions will also focus on recent regional security developments as the two ministers exchange views on global challenges.

Recent Engagements (Rome 2023)

In October 2023, Singh held wide-ranging defence talks with Crosetto in Rome. According to the government statement, they discussed cooperation topics including training, information sharing, maritime exercises and security – with a strong emphasis on industrial collaboration. The two ministers noted the “complementary capacities” of India and Italy and explored joint development of military systems. Singh also advocated closer ties between Indian defence start-ups and Italian industry. The Rome meeting concluded with the signing of a new Defence Cooperation Agreement. This pact will promote collaboration in areas such as defence policy, R&D, military education and maritime domain awareness – explicitly including co-development, co-production and joint ventures.

Industrial Collaboration Focus

India and Italy have been steadily bolstering defence ties since 2023. The MoD noted that cooperation “gained further momentum after Raksha Mantri visited Rome in October 2023”. The statement said Crosetto’s maiden visit “underlines the desire of both nations to further expand existing cooperation”, particularly in the industrial sector. For example, last year’s Rome agreement explicitly calls for co-development and co-production of defence platforms, reflecting an emphasis on joint ventures and technology partnerships.

Strategic Convergence

Officials highlighted that the January 2026 India–EU Defence & Strategic Partnership has given further impetus to bilateral cooperation. The press release described the agreement as signalling “increasing strategic convergence” between India and its European partners. This growing alignment is expected to reinforce collaborative efforts on shared security priorities.

Source: Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Defence, Government of India).