Speech by Ambassador Y. K. Sailas Thangal at Defence Industry Seminar
(Astana, 15 October 2026)

Quarmet Qounaktaran,

Distinguished representatives of the MOD of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Engineering and Kazakhstan’s defence industry partners; Distinguished representatives of DDP and members of the Indian defence industry;

Ladies and Gentlemen, Assalamu Alaikum, Namaskar, Salemetsiz be!

It is a privilege and pleasure to welcome you all to Astana for the Defence Industry Seminar–2026, bringing together two countries that share a long-standing friendship, mutual respect and strategic partnership.

Our defence cooperation is guided by the Agreement on Defence and Military Technical Cooperation signed in 2015. Over the years, it has expanded to include training, joint exercises, institutional exchanges and defence-industrial cooperation. The successful conclusion of Exercise KAZIND in Oskemen on 11 October 2026 reflects this enduring partnership. Such engagements strengthen interoperability, enhance mutual learning and deepen professional bonds. Our participation in United Nations peacekeeping activities further strengthens this relationship. The next natural step is to translate this trust into a deeper defence-industrial partnership.

India’s defence sector has evolved significantly, with a diversified ecosystem of public-sector enterprises, private companies, MSMEs, start-ups, research institutions and technology firms. India’s emphasis on innovation, indigenous design and development with private-sector participation has enhanced our capability & capacity to manufacture a wide range of defence systems and components. Hence, India is emerging as an increasingly significant defence exporter, creating opportunities to move beyond buyer-seller relationships towards co-development, technology partnerships, maintenance, training, upgrades and life-cycle support.

This presents a significant opportunity for India and Kazakhstan cooperation. Kazakhstan brings strong engineering capabilities, industrial infrastructure, technical expertise and a skilled workforce, while India offers a diverse manufacturing ecosystem, indigenous design and development experience, and growing international market access. Our capabilities are highly complementary. Our objective should not simply be to identify products one country can sell to the other. Instead, we should ask a more ambitious question: What can India and Kazakhstan build together?

There is considerable scope for cooperation in defence manufacturing, maintenance, communications, electronics, unmanned systems, simulation and training technologies. We should also explore collaboration among our research institutions, universities, technology companies and start-ups for joint design and manufacturing as well as integration into wider supply chains.

Distinguished delegates,

A successful defence-industrial relationship requires more than government-to-government engagements. Governments can provide the enabling framework, but industry must drive the partnership. I encourage our industries to use this seminar to establish meaningful business-to-business engagement, identify complementary capabilities, examine regulatory and industrial requirements, and explore joint ventures, co-production and joint-development projects that create mutual value.

We should also look beyond our bilateral markets. Partnerships between Indian and Kazakh companies could develop products and capabilities for wider international markets, making our cooperation more sustainable and commercially meaningful. Success will depend on trust, transparency, quality, competitiveness and a willingness to move beyond conventional models of defence trade.

Looking Towards the Future

The future of India–Kazakhstan defence-industrial cooperation must be defined by greater ambition, substance and depth. Building on our established military and institutional ties, we should encourage our companies to become innovators, manufacturers and long-term strategic partners.

Let us strengthen interaction among our defence industries, research institutions, start-ups and engineering organisations, and establish mechanisms to translate the ideas discussed here in Astana into concrete projects that address the evolving requirements of modern defence and security. India attaches great importance to its relationship with Kazakhstan, which we regard as both an important partner in Central Asia and a valued, trusted partner for expanding cooperation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I encourage all delegates to engage openly and identify new opportunities where our capabilities complement each other. The true measure of this seminar’s success will be the partnerships, projects and initiatives that emerge in the months and years ahead.

I am confident that closer interaction among our defence ministries, armed forces and industries will open new avenues of cooperation and elevate our bilateral defence relationship to a new level.

I wish the seminar every success and hope that today’s deliberations mark the beginning of many mutually beneficial partnerships between India and Kazakhstan.

Thank you. Khop Rahmet

Jai Hind! Long live India–Kazakhstan friendship!