Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to visit Japan, South Korea on a five-day trip

New Delhi: To further strengthen defence and military ties with the East Asian countries, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh would be on a five-day visit to Japan and South Korea starting from August 2.

"The Defence Minister is scheduled to visit Japan (2-3 September 2019) and the Republic of Korea (5-6 September 2019) for a bilateral visit. As part of his visit to Japan, the Minister will co-chair the Annual Defence Ministerial Dialogue with his counterpart, Takeshi Iwaya, Minister of Defence of Japan," Defence Ministry spokesperson Bharat Bhushan Babu said in a media statement.

"The Ministerial Dialogue will aim to further strengthen India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership and will include wide-ranging discussions to enhance the bilateral defence and security engagements between the two countries," he said.

During his visit, Singh will also, call on the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

India and Japan have developed strong ties over the last five years and there is a personal bonding also between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart.

Experts feel that the two countries are also natural allies in the field of defence and security.

In South Korea, the Defence Minister will have a bilateral dialogue with his counterpart Jeong Kyeong - Doo. He will also call on the South Korean Prime MinisterLee Nak - Yon.

A CEO's Forum followed by a Business-to-Government (B2G) meeting will also be held in Seoul with the participation of members of the Defence Industry from both sides with an aim to encourage co-operation between defence Industry of India and the Republic of Korea.

India is developing strong military hardware cooperation with South Korea as the Indian Army has already inducted the K-9 Vajra self-propelled howitzers built in partnership with the Indian firm Larsen and Toubro.