(MENAFN) India and Israel have entered into a new defense collaboration pact designed to reinforce and expand their bilateral relationship, according to a statement released by New Delhi’s Defense Ministry.

The accord was finalized in Tel Aviv on Tuesday during a joint working group meeting on defense cooperation, which was co-led by Indian Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and the Director General of the Israeli Defense Ministry, Maj. Gen. (Res) Amir Baram, the ministry’s announcement revealed.

According to the statement, the agreement will facilitate the “sharing of advanced technology and would promote co-development and co-production,” signaling a deeper technological and industrial partnership between the two countries.

Although specific contracts were not outlined in the ministry’s declaration, a media outlet reported that India is set to obtain rockets for its ground forces along with medium-range surface-to-air missile defense systems created by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), in a deal estimated at around $3.75 billion.

Additionally, IAI will modify six commercial aircraft into refueling planes for the Indian Air Force at a cost of $900 million, the report mentioned.

The signing took place alongside the visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to New Delhi on Tuesday.

During discussions with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Sa’ar praised India as a “global superpower,” emphasizing that relations between the two nations have reached an unprecedented level, fueled by growing cooperation in strategic and technological domains.

“India and Israel have a strategic partnership and particularly in our case, that term has a real meaning. We have stood together in testing times. And we have created a relationship with a high degree of trust and reliability,” Jaishankar affirmed, highlighting the enduring and dependable nature of the alliance.

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