By Franz-Stefan Gady
The German Defense Minister is visiting India lobbying for the purchase of German and European military hardware.
Today, German Defense Minister, Ursula von der Leyen, began an official two-day visit to India with the aim of promoting stronger bilateral defense cooperation.
While in New Delhi, she held talks with top Indian officials, including her Indian counterpart. Von der Leyen offered Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar German submarine technology as well as the Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter, manufactured by a consortium of European defense contractors, Der Spiegel reports.
“I wanted to send a clear signal that the [German] federal government will support this,” von der Leyen told Der Spiegel. The German defense minister also noted that “there is Indian interest in industry cooperation for the construction of submarines.”
India accounts for almost 15 percent of global defense imports and German arms exporters are looking to profit from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” defense procurement initiative.
Read the full story at The Diplomat