India inks 1st defence pact with Caribbean nation

New Delhi, May 1

India, for the first time, has included a Caribbean nation — the Dominican Republic — into the ITEC-Defence Scheme, under which the armed forces personnel of that country will get trained at various military training institutes in the country.

The pact was among the several signed during External Affairs Minister Jaishankar’s visit last week. The two sides also agreed to deepen cooperation in cutting-edge sectors such as space exploration, satellite data management, artificial intelligence, biotechnologies, information and communication technologies and more.

A meeting between Jaishankar and his counterpart Roberto Alvarez also focused on bilateral, regional as well as international issues. The two ministers also jointly inaugurated the Indian embassy, which was opened in 2022.