India and Tanzania have taken significant steps to boost their bilateral defense ties. They recently concluded a high-level meeting in Zanzibar focused on expanding military collaboration across various traditional and modern sectors. The discussions underscored the warm and strategic partnership between the two nations, which is currently guided by a dedicated five-year roadmap for defense cooperation.
4th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC)
Zanzibar, Tanzania
02-03 February 2026
Reviewing and Expanding Defence Collaboration
The discussions went beyond existing partnerships to include advanced technological frontiers and new service branches:
- A major breakthrough was the agreement to initiate cooperation between the Air Forces of both nations, complementing existing Army and Navy ties.
- Both sides explored capacity building in niche, modern warfare areas including Electronic Warfare (EW), Cyber security, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
- Traditional areas of cooperation were reviewed, with a continued focus on military training, service-to-service cooperation, and maritime security.
- New avenues for collaboration were identified, specifically in counter-terrorism, peacekeeping training, and military medicine.
- Opportunities for broader defence industry collaboration were also discussed to strengthen bilateral ties.
- Indian Delegation Leader: Shri Amitabh Prasad, Joint Secretary (Defence Cooperation).
- Tanzanian Delegation Leader: Mr. Ibrahim Mhona, Chief of Operations and Training, Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF).
- Key Attendee: The meeting was also attended by Shri Bishwadip Dey, the High Commissioner of India to Tanzania.
- The Indian delegation included senior officials from the Department of Defence and the Indian Defence Forces.
This information is based on a press release from the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
Official Link: Press Information Bureau (PIB) Release ID: 2222712
