India-UAE Army Staff Talks reached their fifth round on Sunday, with Indian Army and UAE Land Forces delegations meeting in Abu Dhabi to review the state of bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.

What the two armies discussed

The two sides took stock of existing cooperation and looked at ways to build on it. Sharing best practices, widening professional exchanges and expanding participation in courses and workshops held in India were named as areas both delegations wanted to grow.


Exercise Desert Cyclone gets a boost

Training featured prominently. Both sides agreed to enhance bilateral training by fielding an integrated Combat Team in the next edition of Exercise Desert Cyclone, which has run on Indian soil before.

An integrated team draws personnel from both armies into one formation, not two contingents side by side.

A stop at Tawazun Industrial Park

The Indian Army delegation also visited Tawazun Industrial Park, the Abu Dhabi free zone built to host the UAE's defence and precision manufacturing industry, where officers were shown a display of new-generation equipment. Tawazun sits at Zayed Military City and hosts firms working across armoured vehicles, precision munitions and autonomous systems.

Courtesy calls in Abu Dhabi

The delegation called on Brig Gen Staff Mohamed Khamees Mohamed Al-Hassani, Deputy Commander of the UAE Land Forces, and on Dr Deepak Mittal, India's Ambassador to the UAE. Both calls reinforced institutional ties and the Comprehensive Strategic Defence Partnership, ADG PI said.

India-UAE Army Staff Talks build on a widening track

Brig Gen Al-Hassani is a familiar presence around India-UAE Army Staff Talks. He called on the Indian Army Chief at Army Headquarters in New Delhi last year, a visit that set markers for the exchanges and joint activity both sides said they wanted to grow. The Abu Dhabi round builds on that groundwork.

The army channel sits inside a wider push. New Delhi and Abu Dhabi have been holding India UAE defence cooperation talks at the official level, and the Gulf has become a live customer conversation for Indian platforms, including the BrahMos export discussions now under way. The two countries call their ties a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, a status they reached in 2017, and defence has grown into one of its steadier strands since. The UAE Ministry of Defence and India's Ministry of Defence steer the wider relationship on each side.

ADG PI tagged the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the UAE Ministry of Defence in its post on the talks.