RT team
India and Israel have signed a landmark agreement to accelerate innovation and the development of dual-use technologies by small and medium-sized enterprises in both nations.
The pact, formalized between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel’s Directorate of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D), aims to foster collaboration in various cutting-edge fields. G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO, and Daniel Gold, Head of DDR&D, were the signatories.
This Bilateral Innovation Agreement is set to “promote innovation and accelerate R&D in startups and MSMEs of both countries for the development of dual-use technologies.” The collaboration will focus on next-generation technologies such as drones, robotics, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, photonics, biosensing, brain-machine interface, energy storage, wearable devices, and natural language processing, tailored to meet the unique needs of both countries.
The initiative will be jointly funded by DRDO and DDR&D, ensuring that the resulting technologies and products are accessible for domestic applications in both nations.
The agreement follows recent high-level visits to Israel by India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, highlighting the strengthening ties between the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992. Bilateral trade currently stands at approximately $5 billion annually, with defence trade alone contributing around $1 billion, reflecting India’s significant interest in Israeli defence products, though these figures are often not included in regular trade statistics.
