New Delhi, Oct 16: In what could be called as taking Defence cooperation between the two nations to a new level, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has shown keen interest in acquiring India's indigenously built fighter jet Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
UAE Minister of State for Defence Affairs Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi Al Falacy, who is on an official visit to India, met Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and discussed a range of Defence cooperation issues.
As per the sources in the government, 'The visiting minister has shown interest in purchasing LCA Tejas. In this regard, he will be visiting Bangalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Wednesday.”
Earlier, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Qatar, Singapore and Egypt had also evinced interest in the fighter jet. Besides LCA, the UAE is also interested in other 'Make in India' products.
Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen flew Tejas in November last year and had said that his maiden sortie was "excellent and impressive".
Mr Hen was the first civilian foreigner to have flown the indigenous aircraft.
The Ministers also undertook a review of bilateral defence cooperation and deliberated upon measures to further enhance bilateral exchanges.
'They recognised that deeper bilateral defence cooperation has been emphasised by the leadership of both countries as a central element in the expanded India and UAE Strategic Partnership,' the Ministry of Defence said in a statement here.
In the meeting, they also deliberated to extend the joint military exercise of armies in desert areas, sources said. The air forces and navies of both the countries jointly conduct exercises.
After HAL, the UAE Minister will also visit the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE).
The LCA programme was initiated in 1983, to replace the ageing MiG-21s planes in IAF's combat fleet, but has missed several deadlines due to various reasons.
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