Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India | 7th February 2020: The UK India Business Council (UKIBC) and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to forge closer defence ties between the two countries.
L-R (Sitting): Rear Admiral AK Verma, Principal Advisor, SIDM and Mr. Richard McCallum, Vice-Chair, UKIBC
The MoU was signed on sidelines of the ongoing DefExpo 2020 in the presence of UK Minister for Defence Procurement James Heappey MP, Director of the UK Department for International Trade’s Defence and Security Organisation (DSO) Mark Goldsack, and Defence Advisor at the British High Commission in India Brigadier Gavin Thompson.
The collaboration reaffirms the UK-India partnership’s intent for even more trade, made possible through strong economic and industrial cooperation between the two nation’s defence industries. It also seeks to promote a sustainable framework for the present as well as future partnerships.
The MoU was signed by the Vice-Chair of UKIBC Richard McCallum and Rear Admiral A K Verma IN (Retd.), Principal Advisor, SIDM at the UK-India Defence Industry Forum.
The UKIBC also announced that Commodore Bunty Sethi (Retd.), will work with UKIBC’s Aerospace and Defence Industry Group in a strategic advisory role.
Speaking at the signing, Vice-Chair UKIBC Richard McCallum said, “This MoU will help in building partnerships and capabilities in the Aerospace and Defence sector and will support and build on the huge opportunities for collaboration that exist between the defence industries of the UK and India. Collaboration will not only advance India’s defence acquisition process but also foster long-term technology and hardware transfers. Our aim to boost India’s defence sector, which possess immense potential.”
The Aerospace and Defence Industry Group chaired by the UKIBC was formed with the support of the Defence and Security Organisation (DSO), UK Defence Solutions Centre (UK DSC), ADS Group Ltd. & the Department for International Trade (DIT).
