New Delhi, September 14, 2021: The first-ever India Africa Defence Ministers Conclave (IADMC) was held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in conjunction with DefExpo on February 06, 2020, co-organised by the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs.
This was the first in the series of Pan Africa events at the Ministerial level in the run-up to India Africa Forum Summit IV. A Joint Declaration, ‘Lucknow Declaration’ was adopted after conclusion of IADMC 2020 as an outcome document of the Conclave.
In furtherance of the declaration and in consultation with stakeholders, India proposes to institutionalise the India Africa Defence Dialogue during successive DefExpos to be held once every two years, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on September 13, 2021.
MoD also said that::
Institutionalisation of the India Africa Defence Dialogue will help to build on the existing partnerships between African countries & India and to explore new areas of convergence for mutual engagements including areas like capacity building, training, cyber security, maritime security and counter-terrorism.
It has been decided that Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses shall be the knowledge partner of India Africa Defence Dialogue and will assist in providing necessary support for enhanced defence cooperation between India and Africa.
It has also been decided that Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh will host the Defence Ministers of African Nations in the next India – Africa Defence Dialogue on the sidelines of the DefExpo that is scheduled to be held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat in March 2022.
