Defence Relation

INDIA-UAE BILATERAL DEFENCE COOPERATION 

1. Bilateral defence cooperation between India and the UAE has been steadily growing in consonance with other domains of the bilateral relationship. It is steered through a Joint Defence Co-operation Committee (JDCC) at the Ministry level, with the signing of MoU on Defence Cooperation in June 2003. At Service HQ level, Service (Army, Naval and Air) Staff Talks are held annually to discuss security and defence cooperation avenues. 

2. A resident Defence Advisor was posted to EoI, Abu Dhabi with effect  from 04 March 2013. After the establishment of the DA’s office, bilateral defence  co-operation has been strengthened further, notably in the field of training and regular exchange programmes. 

3. Several high-level exchanges at the level of Service Chiefs, functional level exchanges and military education exchanges have been a regular feature of this growing ‘Defence Partnership’. Some of the recent and notable exchanges are as follows:- 

(a) Visit by General Manoj Mukund Naravane, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC, Chief of Army Staff, Indian Army from 08 to12 Dec 2020. 

(b) Visit by Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria PVSM AVSM VM ADC, Chief of the Air Staff, IAF from 01-03 Aug 21. 

(c) Visit by Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi PVSM AVSM NM, Chief of the Naval Staff, Indian Navy from 20-25 Oct 24. 

(d) Visit by H.E. Mohammad Ahmed Al Bowardi, Minister of State for Defence, UAE from 24 to 27 Jan 17 and 05 to 08 Feb 2020. 

(e) Staff Major General Pilot Ibrahim Nasser Al Alawi, Commander of the  UAE Air Force and Air Defence visited India from 25 to 30 Sep 2022 on an invitation from Chief of the Air Staff, Indian Air Force. 

4. There has been a regular and high-level participation in each other’s defence exhibitions. While IDEX & NAVDEX and the Dubai Air Show are held in the UAE, Aero India and the Defence Expo are conducted in India. This is a testimony to intent of both sides to further bilateral partnership in the field of defence manufacturing. Few notable participations in Defence Exhibitions are as follows:-  

(a) Dr. Subhash Bhamre, the hon’ble RRM, led the Indian delegation to IDEX & NAVDEX 2017 which also included Lt Gen PK Srivastava, DG (Arty) and  Mr MH Rahman, CCE (R&D), DRDO. 

(b) Staff Major General Pilot Ibrahim Nasser Al Alawi, Commander of the  UAE Air Force and Air Defence attended the Aero India 2021 at Bengaluru. 

(c) Shri Ajay Bhatt, the hon’ble RRM led the Indian delegation to Dubai Air Show 2023. In addition to the RRM, Air Mshl R Radhish AVSM VM, AOC-in-C Training Command and Shri T Natrajan, AS (DP) also attended the event. 

(d) H.E. Matar Salem Ali Al Dhaheri, Under Secretary to MoD, UAE led the UAE delegation to DEFEXPO-2022 and Aero India 2023. 

(e) H.E. Staff Lt Gen Ibrahim Nasser Al Alawi, Under Secretary to MoD, UAE, visited India to attend the Aero India 2025. 

5. At the Service level, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Indian Coast Guard conducts regular bilateral and multilateral exercises with UAE with an aim to enhance interoperability and learn each other’s best practices. These are:- 

(a) Army. First bilateral Army Exercise Desert Cyclone was conducted from 02-15 January 2024 in India. 

(b) Navy. India and UAE have been conducting bilateral maritime exercise regularly. Earlier known as Ex Zayed Talwar, the exercise has now been rechristened as Ex Gulf Waves. The previous edition was held in UAE in Oct 2024 along with the visit of the CNS, Indian Navy. In addition, UAE also participated as an ‘Observer’ in the multilateral maritime exercise Ex Milan in 2024. Apart from the exercises, Indian Navy carries out frequent port calls in the region, especially Mina Rashid in Dubai and Mina Zayed at Abu Dhabi. 

(c) Air Force. IAF has been regularly participating in Ex Desert Flag, the multilateral air exercises held in UAE. Similarly, UAE participated in the inaugural multilateral exercise Ex Tarang Shakti held in India in 2024. 

(d) Coast Guard. In addition to the three services, Indian Coast Guard also engages with the UAE National Guards regularly in the form of table-top and maritime passage exercises during their port calls to UAE. 

6. There has been a renewed focus on forging partnerships and joint ventures between the defence manufacturers from both sides. Towards this, the first-ever India UAE Defence Industry Cooperation Forum was held under the aegis of Department of Defence Production, MoD, Govt of India in Sep 2024. The forum brought together industry leaders and government officials from both countries to explore opportunities for collaboration in defence manufacturing and technology.  

7. The forum saw active participation from government officials, industry leaders, and defence experts from both nations, with the goal of fostering innovation, technology transfer, and joint ventures in the defence sector. Key players from the Indian defence industry, including private and public sector companies, engaged with their UAE counterparts, particularly EDGE Group and other defence companies under the EDCC, to enhance defence manufacturing capabilities and deepen strategic ties. 

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