India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be in Germany from Tuesday (April 21, 2026) for three days, when the two nations are expected to finalise a nearly $8-billion deal to supply six advanced, modern submarines to the Indian Navy.
Rajnath will be in Germany till Thursday (April 23, 2026), when he will meet with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, and the two leaders are expected to talk about the final details of the submarine deal.
He will also engage in conversations with other senior government and military officials and defence industrial partners at various events during the trip.
During these talks, the two sides would explore new avenues for deeper collaboration, investment, and strategic partnerships between the two countries, apart from reaffirming their existing defence ties.
“Rajnath Singh will undertake an official visit to Germany from April 21 to 23, 2026, to further strengthen the strategic defence partnership between the two countries,” a Ministry of Defence (MoD) statement on Sunday (April 19) said.
“During the visit, the Defence Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, and other senior leaders of the government,” the statement said.
The discussions would focus on enhancing defence industrial collaboration, strengthening military-to-military engagements, and exploring opportunities in emerging domains such as cyber security, artificial intelligence, and drones.
A defence industrial cooperation roadmap and implementing arrangement for cooperation in UN peacekeeping operations training are likely to be signed in the presence of the two defence ministers.
“The visit will provide an opportunity to review the ongoing defence cooperation initiatives and identify new avenues for collaboration between the defence industries of both countries,” the statement said.
Rajnath Singh is also expected to interact with key representatives of the German defence industry, with a view to promoting joint development and coproduction under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
His visit comes after a gap of seven years. The last visit by an Indian defence minister to Germany was by Nirmala Sitharaman in February 2019.
Pistorius had visited India in June 2023 and held extensive talks with Rajnath Singh.
India and Germany share a strong and multifaceted strategic partnership, anchored in democratic values, the rule of law, and a shared commitment to a rule-based international order.
“Defence and security cooperation has emerged as an important pillar of this partnership in recent years. The objective of the visit is to further deepen bilateral ties and contribute to regional and global peace, stability, and prosperity,” the MoD said.
The Indian Navy had said earlier that it wanted to finalise the six-submarine deal in March 2026 under which India’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited would build the vessels with technical support from German firm ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.
However, that deadline could not be met. But the Indian Navy wants to finalise and sign the deal at the earliest in this fiscal to arm its submarine fleet with Air-Independent Propulsion System-fitted vessels.