Rajnath Singh, the defence minister, will go to France and Italy with an emphasis on business partnerships

Rajnath Singh, the defence minister, will begin a four-day trip to Italy and France on Monday to deepen bilateral strategic ties and examine business partnerships for cooperative development of military gear.

Singh will visit Rome for the first stop of his two-nation trip, where he will meet with his Italian counterpart Guido Crisetto for extensive discussions. During the Italian prime minister’s visit to India in March, the two countries’ relationship reached the status of strategic partnership.

From October 9 to October 12, the government said, “Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Italy and France.”

Together with his French colleague Sebastian Lecornu, Singh will attend the fifth annual India-France defense conversation in Paris.

“France and India recently commemorated 25 years of strategic cooperation. The bilateral defense connection between the two nations is strong and extensive, and it includes substantial industrial collaboration, according to a statement from the defense ministry.

The defense minister will also meet with CEOs and senior officials of the defense sector in both Rome and Paris to talk about prospective chances for industrial collaboration, according to the statement.

According to officials, Singh would explore the possibility of cooperative development of military systems in both Rome and Paris.

According to those with knowledge of the situation, Eric Trappier, the chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, is scheduled to go to New Delhi this week to discuss different elements of India’s planned acquisition of 26 Rafale aircraft in naval configuration.

They said Trappier would be in Delhi for two days starting on Monday to conduct initial contract discussions. However, there has been no formal statement made on Dassault Aviation’s visit.

The previous several years have seen an increase in India and France’s defense and strategic relations.

Three Scorpene submarines for the Indian Navy and the cooperative development of jet and helicopter engines were among the innovative defense cooperation initiatives that India and France unveiled in July.

The two key partners also committed to working together on the co-development and co-production of cutting-edge defense technology, including for third-party nations.