Defence Ministers’ Conclave

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What is Aero India 2023?
• What is the significance of Aero India 2023?
• News Summary: Defence Ministers’ Conclave
• About the conclave
• Key highlights of the speech delivered by Defence Minister at the conclave

Why in news?

• The Defence Ministers’ Conclave was held on the sidelines of Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru.
• At the conclave, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh hosted the Defence & Deputy Defence Ministers of 27 countries.

What is Aero India 2023?

• The 14th edition of the biennial show, Aero India 2023, was inaugurated by PM Modi at the Air Force Station in Yelahanka, Bengaluru on February 13.
• It is being organised on the theme ‘The runway to a billion opportunities’ and the show seeks to display India’s growth in aerospace and defence capabilities.
• Aero India 2023 is being organised by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on behalf of the Department of Defence Production of the Ministry of Defence.

‹ ›

What is the significance of Aero India 2023?

• Export of indigenous air platforms
  • The event aims to promote export of indigenous air platforms like Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas, HTT-40 etc.
• Opportunities for domestic MSMEs and start-ups
  • It will integrate domestic MSMEs and start-ups in the global supply chain and attract foreign investments including partnerships for co-development and co-production.
• Aims to strengthen India’s relations with others countries
  • Though Aero India is a business event, it additionally aims to strengthen India’s relations with others countries.
  • This is evident from the participation of 98 countries, the Defence Ministers of 32 countries and Air Chiefs of 29 countries.

News Summary: Defence Ministers’ Conclave

• Defence minister Rajnath Singh hosted a conclave of his counterparts on the sidelines of the 14th Aero India 2023, Asia’s biggest military airshow, in Bengaluru.

About the conclave

• The broad theme of the conclave was ‘Shared Prosperity through Enhanced Engagements in Defence’ (SPEED).
• It sought to address aspects related to deepening cooperation for capacity building, training, space, AI and maritime security to grow together.
• Defence & Deputy Defence Ministers of 27 countries participated in the conclave.

Key highlights of the speech delivered by Defence Minister at the conclave

• Need for greater cooperation
  • He highlighted the need for greater cooperation in an increasingly-complex global security scenario.
  • He also called for real-time collaboration to respond to such fast-paced changes.
• Highlighted India’s approach towards countries needing assistance
  • India does not believe in giving “sermons” or “cut-and-dried” solutions to countries needing assistance.
    • Cut-and-dried – prepared or settled in advance; not needing much thought or discussion.
  • India has always stood for a rules-based global order.
  • In this approach, the primordial instinct of might being right is replaced by fairness, respect and equality amongst all sovereign nations.
  • India has remained unattached to any alliance or faction of one group of nations against the other.
• Indirectly criticised China
  • Defence Minster stressed that nations with superior military powers or better technological prowess do not have the right to dictate solutions to others.
  • The top-down approach towards solving problems has never been sustainable in the long run.
  • It often leads to debt trap, reaction from the local population, conflict and so on.
    • China’s lending practices have been often drawn criticism from the West and it has been accused of burdening poor countries with enormous and unsustainable debt.

Highlighted the importance of collective security

• The Raksha Mantri described collective security as sine qua non (essential condition) for development and prosperity.
• He emphasised that terrorism, illegal arms trade, drugs smuggling, human trafficking, pose significant security threats to the world.
• In this regard, he sought new strategies to counter these threats.

Q1) Where was the 14th edition of Aero India 2023 held?

The 14th edition of Asia’s largest aero show, Aero India 2023, was held in Bengaluru. The five-day event focused on displaying indigenous equipment/technologies and forging partnerships with foreign companies.

Q2) What is the theme of 14th Aero India 2023?

14^th Aero India 2023 was organized on the theme ‘The runway to a billion opportunities’.The show displayed India’s growth in aerospace and defence capabilities.

Source: India does not believe in ‘cut-and-dried’ solutions for countries in need: Rajnath Singh | PIB | Indian Express