India-Armenia defence ties get fresh push as defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh visits Yerevan

New Delhi: India is looking to deepen its expanding defence partnership with Armenia, with defence secretary, Rajesh Kumar Singh arriving in Yerevan for a two-day visit focused on charting the next phase of bilateral military and strategic cooperation. His visit comes at a time when defence engagement between New Delhi and Yerevan has gained momentum through a series of high-level military exchanges.

Singh arrived in the Armenian capital on August 16 and was received by the ambassador of India to Armenia and senior representatives of the Armenian defence ministry, the ministry said in an official post on X. Singh will engage with the Armenian leadership during the visit to chart the course of future India-Armenia defence and strategic cooperation.

The visit assumes significance as India and Armenia have stepped up their defence engagement in recent months, with senior military officials from both sides holding discussions on expanding cooperation. The latest talks are expected to provide an opportunity to review the progress of existing engagements and identify areas where bilateral defence ties can be taken forward.

Singh’s visit also follows the visit of Armenia’s chief of the general staff of the armed forces, Lieutenant General Edvard Asryan, to India in April. During his visit, Asryan met Singh in New Delhi and discussed ways to enhance mutual cooperation in the defence domain, setting the stage for further high-level engagement between the two sides.

The Armenian military chief also held separate meetings with Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh and the-then chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan (retired). The talks with the Indian military leadership were aimed at strengthening cooperation in the defence sector and exploring possibilities for further collaboration including possible joint ventures in co-development of military hardware.

With the recent visit from India’s defence secretary, both nations are looking to expand upon these exchanges by creating a framework within which military collaboration can take place. Some of the topics covered during the meetings at Yerevan may include the future path of military collaboration, the exchange of defence technology and other areas where collaboration can be improved between the two nations.

India has become an important defence partner for Armenia in the recent past, as both nations have been looking to develop their cooperation with each other through military hardware and military capacity-building. Their increasing engagement has also been bolstered through consistent interactions on political and military levels.