Meeting between the Minister of National Defence N. Dendias and the Indian Defence Minister R. Singh, and conclusion of his visit to New Delhi

Meeting between the Minister of National Defence N. Dendias and the Indian Defence Minister R. Singh, and conclusion of his visit to New Delhi

February 9, 2026

The Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias concluded his official visit to India on Monday 9 February 2026, with a private meeting with the Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singhin New Delhi.

After the meeting, extensive talks were held with the participation of the Defence Ministers of both countries and their Delegations.

After the meeting with his counterpart, Mr. Dendias stated:

«My visit to India has just come to an end. I had the opportunity to meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and then visit a number of Bases, companies and the innovation ecosystem of this great country. I was able to get a feel for how they think, how they develop and reform their Armed Forces. And finally today, after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, to meet with the Defence Minister of India κ. Singh,with whom I had a deep and since exchange of views.

I would like to say that our relations with India are relations that can represent a great opportunity for our Homeland, Greece. A great opportunity at bilateral level, for the exchange of experiences, but also for helping Indian companies to come and invest in Greece, so that we can jointly create innovative products. But also an opportunity to bring the two environments, startups and the innovation ecosystem, into contact.

India is a country of enormous interest. I believe that for Greece, having close ties with a country of one billion four hundred million inhabitants, with Armed Forces numbering almost 1.5 million, is extremely important. We also share systems. The Indian Air Force also has Rafale aircrafts, just like us.

Finally, I had the opportunity to sign an agreement with my Indian counterpart concerning our cooperation of defence industry issues. It is the first in a series of agreements we are negotiating.

Let me reiterate: the relationship with India is a strategic one. It is a long-term relationship that I believe can significantly alter the economic reality between the two countries".

The Minister of National Defence also visited the Defence Production Centre of the Indian Ministry of Defence in New Delhi today, where he attended presentations on the prospects for cooperation in defence innovation and technology. In attendance were the Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors, General Managers, and Chief Development Officers from India's Public Sector Defence Enterprises, as well as members of private innovation firms.

During the meeting at the Defence Production Centre of the Ministry of Defence of India, Mr. Dendias referred to the reform of the Greek Armed Forces with the "Agenda 2030", as well as the new phase of Greece's relations with India, which he initiated during his tenure as Foreign Minister of the Government of Greece with the then and current Foreign Minister of India, Dr. Jaishankar.

On the "Agenda 2030", Mr. Dendias also referred to the "Achilles' Shield", a five-layer "shield" covering our country against all potential threats (space, cyberspace, airspace, land, sea and below sea level).

The Greek Minister stressed, among other things, the importance of communication between major companies and the defence ecosystems of the two countries - as well as between startups in Greece and India - and the encouragement of the creation of a Forum, through which this communication will take place.

He also referred to the potential synergies that exist between the ecosystems and the need to create a permanent mechanism for contacts and exercises between the Armed Forces of the two countries.

Afterwards, Mr. Dendias visited the National Gallery of Modern Art and the exhibition "Gikas: A Journey to India", on the great Greek painter Nikos Hadjikyriakos - Gikas, and went to the National Memorial of the Fallen of India, where he laid a wreath.

On Sunday 8 February 2026, the Defence Minister travelled to Bangalore, India, where he had the opportunity to be hosted at defence facilities and learn about India's innovation ecosystem. Mr. Dendias visited state-owned and leading private companies active in the field of defence innovation and cutting-edge technology development and attended presentations and instrumentation demonstrations.