Army Chief Gen Naravane Leaves For Israel To Boost Bilateral Defence Ties

Army Chief Gen Naravane; pic courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: In a bid to enhance bilateral defence relations, Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane left for Israel on Sunday.

Following the defence cooperation’s decision to set up a task force to put together a comprehensive 10-year roadmap to identify new areas of collaboration, the general’s first visit to the country was arranged.

“The army chief will take forward the excellent bilateral defence cooperation between Israel and India through multiple meetings with senior officials of the (Israeli) security establishment and exchange views on various defence-related issues,” the army said via a statement.

It may be recalled that external affairs minister S Jaishankar visited that country last month.

According to a report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) in March 2021, Israel has been among India’s top three arms suppliers for the last five years. Israel accounted for 13 per cent of India’s imports during 2016-20 after Russia (49 per cent) and France (18 per cent).

ALSO READ: Diwali Gift: Family Pension Limit Increased As Defence Ministry Changes Rules