India EU defence cooperation was on the table in New Delhi on Tuesday, when Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh co-chaired a meeting with a visiting delegation of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), led by its Chair, David McAllister.

Both sides agreed on the need to further strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership. They reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation in security and defence, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Defence Secretary and AFET delegation discuss regional security

Regional peace and security also came up, and the two sides found common ground on several issues, the ministry said. Senior Defence Ministry officials made up the Indian side at the table. The meeting closed with a handshake between the Defence Secretary and Mr McAllister in front of the Indian and EU flags.

AFET delegation in New Delhi for three days ahead of FTA signing

The delegation is in New Delhi from October 26 to 28, on what the European Parliament calls the committee's first official visit to India under its current mandate.

Members are scheduled to meet representatives of the Indian government, Parliament, business, think tanks and non-governmental organisations. Talks are to cover the EU-India Strategic Agenda, key geopolitical challenges and shared concerns in the Indo-Pacific.

EU Ambassador to India Jean-Eric Paquet said ahead of the visit that it comes before the signing of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement. The conclusion of negotiations on the FTA was announced at the 16th India-EU Summit in New Delhi on January 27.

AFET is the European Parliament's lead committee on the EU's foreign and security policy. Its 79 members scrutinise the work of the EU's diplomatic service and adopt reports on the bloc's external action. The committee also gives its consent to international agreements negotiated by the European Commission on behalf of the bloc, according to the committee's own website.

McAllister returns nine years after his first visit as Chair

Mr McAllister, a German member of the European People's Party group, has chaired AFET since January 2017. His first trip abroad in that role was to India in February 2017, when the committee came as part of a joint visit by three European Parliament delegations with more than 20 members.

Earlier this year, between March 31 and April 2, he led an AFET delegation to Seoul and Tokyo.

India EU defence cooperation rests on January partnership

India EU defence cooperation is anchored in a Security and Defence Partnership that the two sides signed at the summit on January 27. The partnership covers maritime security, cyber security, counter-terrorism, space, and defence industry and technology.

It is run through an annual EU-India Security and Defence Dialogue, backed by thematic exchanges on shared threats and challenges. The two sides also opened negotiations on a Security of Information Agreement, which would allow the exchange of classified information. Under the partnership text, both sides will explore possibilities for India's participation in relevant EU defence initiatives.

India became the third Asian country, after Japan and South Korea, to sign such a partnership with the EU.

Defence Secretary steps up engagement with European partners

Tuesday's meeting is the latest in a run of foreign engagements for the Defence Secretary, whose tenure was extended last week to October 31, 2027.

He was in Cyprus and Greece, both EU member states, from October 12 to 15. Maritime security and defence industrial cooperation topped the agenda of that four-day visit to the Eastern Mediterranean. In September, he met a bipartisan US House delegation led by Representative Brian Mast, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, for talks on defence industrial and technological cooperation.

Bilateral industry ties with EU members are also growing. Ten defence industry agreements were signed during a Belgian government delegation's visit to New Delhi in September, covering areas from rockets and ammunition to mine countermeasures.