India, Poland defence ties strengthening: Raju

NEW DELHI: In a sign of strengthening ties between India and NATO countries, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju on Monday expressed hope that Defence relations between Indian and Poland are set to take off into an era of more participative cooperation.

When Polish Deputy Foreign Miniser Ryszard Schnepf, who is on a visit to Delhi, called on Raju, the latter commended Poland's significant participation in the DefExpo 2008 held here in February, according to a Ministry of Defence (MOD) spokesperson.

The erstwhile member of Warsaw Pact countries, Poland had joined NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) in 1999 and the European Union (EU) in 2004.

Raju said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation signed in February 2003 during the visit of the then Polish Prime Minister to New Delhi ensured consolidation of defence ties between the two countries.

Poland, which manufactures a large variety of arms and ammunition, has been responsive to New Delhi's interests in the South Asian Region, the spokesman said.

Under the 2003 MoU, the two countries have held three joint working group meetings on defence cooperation, the last one in December 2007.

The two countries periodically exchanged high level visits. Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor visited Warsaw in March this year, the spokesperson added.