Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh paid an official visit to Vietnam from June 8 to 10, 2022, at the invitation of Vietnam’s Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang. During his bilateral talks with General Phan Van Giang, they reviewed the defence cooperation between the two countries and explored new initiatives to further strengthen the defence engagements. The two Defence Ministers signed the ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030’, which will significantly enhance the scope and scale of existing defence cooperation. A Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Logistics Support was also inked in the presence of both the Ministers. The Raksha Mantri also announced gifting two simulators and monetary grant towards setting up of Language and IT Lab at Air Force Officers Training School for capacity building of Vietnamese Armed Forces. At the Hong Ha Shipyard in Hai Phong, the Raksha Mantri presided over the handing over ceremony of 12 High Speed Guard Boats constructed under the Government of India’s $US 100 million Defence Line of Credit to Vietnam. The Raksha Mantri also called on the President of Vietnam Mr Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Mr Pham Minh Chinh.
Following Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s clarion call for ‘Aatmanirbharta’, Defence Acquisition Council, has accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for Capital Acquisition Proposals of the Armed Forces amounting to Rs 76,390 crore under ‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ and ‘Buy (Indian-IDDM)’ categories. AoNs accorded for equipment of different services are:
Army: Rough Terrain Fork Lift Trucks (RTFLTs), Bridge Laying Tanks (BLTs), Wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles (Wh AFVs) with Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) and Weapon Locating Radars (WLRs) through domestic sources with emphasis on indigenous design and development.
Navy: Next Generation Corvettes (NGC). These NGCs would be constructed based on new in-house design of Indian Navy using latest technology of ship building.
IAF: Manufacture of Dornier Aircrafts and Su-30 MKI aero-engines by M/s HAL.
Coast Guard: ‘Digital Coast Guard’ project which is a pan India secure network for digitising of various surface and aviation operations, logistics, finance and HR processes.
A Multinational Peacekeeping exercise “Ex Khaan Quest 2022” featuring participation from military contingents from 16 countries has commenced in Mongolia on June 6, 2022. Indian Army is represented by a contingent from the LADAKH SCOUTS. The 14-day exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability, building military to military relationships, developing peace support operations and military readiness among participating nations.
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