Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday announced the creation of 10 more Defence Attaches (DAs) posts to boost India's strength in defence diplomacy.
"A large country like India cannot restrict its defence cooperation to a few countries. Efforts should be made to expand it continuously. This will further strengthen India's defence diplomacy," Singh said while announcing the creation of 10 new Defense Wings so that 10 more Defence Attaches (DAs) could be appointed.
The government has introduced a new scheme to promote defence exports through DAs to their respective countries. Under this scheme, funds have been allocated for export promotion to 34 countries. Rajnath Singh hoped that the DAs will use this fund judiciously to promote defence exports, according to a press release.
Earlier, Singh said that India has proved it can disrupt and deter terrorist groups and their masters.
"The continued presence of terrorist infrastructure and state support to terrorists in the neighbouring country have tested India's patience. However, as a responsible and powerful nation, India had displayed that it was able to disrupt and deter the activities of terrorist groups and their patrons," Singh said addressing the third Defence Attaches Conference in New Delhi.
Speaking on the threats in the Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific region, the Union Minister said, "We need to be more focused to secure our interests. We have adopted pro-active measures to promote peace and stability in the region as well as to increase defence and security cooperation with the Indian Ocean rim countries so as to create a stable maritime environment."
( With inputs from ANI )