Ahead of Aero India 2025, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh held bilateral meetings with Minister for Defence and Veteran Affairs, Republic of Fiji Pio Tikoduadua and Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, South Sudan Lt Gen Chol Thon J Balok in Bengaluru, Karnataka on February 09, 2025.

Raksha Mantri welcomed Fijian Defence Minister on his maiden visit to India. Both sides expressed satisfaction on the ongoing defence cooperation and agreed to further deepen and diversify the existing collaboration. Both sides also agreed to institutionalise India-Fiji Joint Working Group on Defence Cooperation as envisaged in the MoU on Defence Cooperation signed in 2017. They decided to augment Maritime Domain Awareness for ensuring maritime safety & security, Exclusive Economic Zone protection, Naval capacity building and training cooperation for UN peacekeepers and defence civilians. This visit is a step towards India’s growing engagement with Fiji, a key member of Pacific Island Countries.

In his meeting with the South Sudanese Defence Minister, Raksha Mantri thanked him for participating in Aero India 2025. Both sides agreed to initiate and expedite efforts towards a Memorandum of Understanding to effectively steer the defence cooperation between both countries. The South Sudanese side acknowledged India’s efforts in United Nations Mission in South Sudan. Both sides agreed to partner for enhanced training exchanges, and agreed to expand relations through industry partnerships.