India’s growing engagement with African nations, top defence officials have held discussions with their counterparts from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on the co-production and co-development of weapon systems.

• This is significant given that the Congolese side is looking at modernising their armed forces.
• The issue figured prominently at the First Secretary-level meeting between the Defence Ministries of India and the DRC held in New Delhi on July 5, 2024.
• The meeting was aimed at identifying areas for collaboration to fulfil the potential of defence cooperation between the two countries, the Ministry of Defence said. Detailed discussions were held to promote cooperation in training and the defence industry.