Bishkek [Kyrgyzstan], April 29 : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held bilateral meetings with his Kyrgyz, Kazakh and Belarusian counterparts on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' Meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Tuesday.
During the meeting with the Defence Minister of Kyrgyzstan, Major General Mukambetov Ruslan Mustafaevich, both sides discussed ways to strengthen the existing bilateral defence cooperation, the Defence Ministry said in an official statement.
According to the ministry, the Defence Minister gifted the two Bhishm Aarogya Maitri Health Cubes to the Kyrgyz side, which have been indigenously developed in India to ensure Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, and Search & Rescue during natural calamities.
Rajnath Singh also announced the completion of the project of provisioning of 12 sets of Computer Systems each at IT Centres of Kyrgyz Military Institute, Bishkek and Military Unit 36806- Osh, followed by the successful installation of Wargaming Software and On-the-Job Training of the Personnel of the Kyrgyz Armed Forces.
In his meeting with the Minister of Defence of Kazakhstan, the Defence Minister emphasised that defence cooperation between the two countries encompasses diverse sectors and it forms an important pillar of bilateral partnership, the ministry said.
During the meeting with the Defence Minister of Belarus, Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin, Rajnath Singh underlined that India attaches high priority to developing a mutually beneficial partnership with Belarus and identified capacity building & training as among the major areas of cooperation, the ministry noted.
In addition, the Defence Minister briefly interacted with the Defence Minister of China, Admiral Dong Jun and the Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, according to the ministry.
During the discussions, the Ministers shared views on the regional and global security landscape, in particular the developments in West Asia.
Earlier, Rajnath Singh & other Defence Ministers paid a courtesy call on Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov. The Defence Ministers also laid wreaths at the Victory Square in Bishkek.