General Dwivedi Engages in Defence Talks with Algerian Military Leaders

Quick Summary

• Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi met Algeria’s senior military leadership during his official visit to Algeria on August 25, 2025.
• Discussions focused on training exchanges for senior officers, joint capability development, and defense-industrial cooperation.
• India aims to deepen defence ties with Algeria and the Maghreb-Sahel region of Africa.
• Talks included modernisation support for Algerian military equipment and potential collaboration in niche technologies like anti-drone systems; no formal sales agreements were announced.
• India-Algeria relations benefit from shared priorities such as counter-terrorism, sovereignty, non-alignment, regional mediation, and South-South cooperation.
• Earlier this month, a defence seminar in Algiers engaged Indian defence firms with Algerian officials to explore collaboration opportunities.
• Algeria is an energy-rich nation with notable influence within the African Union.

Indian Opinion Analysis

General Dwivedi’s visit signals India’s strategic intent to enhance its presence in Africa through defence partnerships like that with Algeria-a nation central to the energy-rich Maghreb-Sahel region’s stability framework. The dialogue reflects India’s twin goals of building long-term bilateral alliances while supporting mutual principles like sovereignty and non-alignment.

While no formal agreements were signed during this visit, discussions around modernisation needs suggest promising prospects for india’s growing role as a defender of shared values within africa amid shifting global power paradigms. Strengthening counter-terrorism prioritization further aligns both countries’ interests against regional threats-giving substance to their evolving partnership beyond geopolitical alignments.

For read more: The Hindu