Visiting German Defence Minister pushes for military sales

German Defence Minister Franz Jospeh Jung, who reached here today, met his Indian counterpart A K Antony.

New Delhi, June 4 : German Defence Minister Franz Jospeh Jung, who reached here today, met his Indian counterpart A K Antony.

The tow leaders discussed defence cooperation between the two nations, and Jung has likely pushed for the sale of German HDW submarines with their Air Independent propulsion systems (AIP), which is competing against Russian Amur class submarines armed with vertically launched KLUB-S Missiles to the Indian navy, according to sources in the Defence Ministry.

Jung, who also met Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, underscored the role of the subcontinent as an important stability factor in the region during talks.

International efforts to bring stability to Afghanistan also likely figured prominently during the talks.

India has already committed to provide more than 750 million-dollar for reconstruction activities in Afghanistan, and 3,500 Indians are participating in such programmes.

Jung had earlier met Antony on the sidelines of the Shangrila Dialogue in Singapore and will visit Islamabad later this week.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also scheduled to arrive in India on a visit aimed at boosting strategic as well as bilateral ties in October this year.

Bilateral trade between India and Germany has doubled in the last three years from 5 billion euros to 10 billion euros.

ANI