India, Sweden to Strengthen Defence Co-operation; Saab's Jet Deal likely to get a Boost
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sweden for India-Nordic Summit, both the countries agreed to work on a deal for strengthening their relations.
Stockholm, April 17: During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sweden for India-Nordic Summit, both the countries agreed to work on a deal for strengthening their relations in terms of defence co-operation. This would probably open gates for Saab to secure $15 billion deal to supply 110 fighter jets to the Indian Air Force (IAF)..
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Stockholm, told reporters, “Sweden and India have agreed to work towards a security agreement allowing us to exchange certain types of classified information required to work together on defence materials,” reported Reuters. He further added, “This agreement would be an important step forward to deepen our bilateral cooperation in the defence domain.”
During the press conference The Prime Minister said, “In the area of defence, Sweden has been a partner of India for a very long time and I am sure that in the future as well, we will find more opportunities for cooperation, in particular in the area of defence production.” While delivering the joint statement PM Modi said, “Sweden has been a strong supporter of ‘Make in India’ initiative from the beginning. Prime Minister Lofven had participated in our ‘Make in India’ programme in 2016 along with a big business delegation.”
India issued a request for information (RFI) for procuring 110 fighter jets for the IAF on April 6. The entire deal could be worth more than $15 billion. Swedish company Saab is eyeing to secure the deal and pitches its Gripen E during the DefExpo 2018 held in Chennai.
Apart from Saab, US-based Lockheed Martin and Boeing and French company Dassault Aviation are the major contenders which are competing for India’s fighter order. The planes are to be built in India as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s make-in-India drive. Saab had signed an agreement with India’s Adani Group during the DefExpo in a bid to sell single-engine planes to the air force.
In the RFI the IAF mentioned that it wants both single and twin-engined planes. The two countries also agreed to cooperate on renewable energy, urban transport and waste management, reported Reuters.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 17, 2018 08:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).