India and Brunei on Tuesday welcomed the "growing momentum" in the defence partnership, and reaffirmed their shared commitment to maintaining peace, stability and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.

The inaugural meeting of India-Brunei Joint Working Group (JWG) on Defence Cooperation took place here, marking a "significant milestone" in advancing the bilateral partnership, the defence ministry said.

Key areas that were discussed included expansion of military-to-military exchanges and joint training, maritime security collaboration (with focus on safety of sea lanes, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief), capacity building, and technology cooperation, it said.

"Both sides welcomed the growing momentum in the defence partnership and agreed to implement a structured roadmap for cooperation under the JWG mechanism. They reaffirmed their shared commitment to maintaining peace, stability, and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region," the ministry said in a statement.

The meeting was co-chaired by Joint Secretary, Defence Ministry, Amitabh Prasad and Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Brunei, Poh Kui Choon.

Prior to the meeting, the co-chairs signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the establishment of JWG on defence cooperation.

"The signing of the ToR marked the beginning of a new era of bilateral defence cooperation. The JWG serves as a constructive platform to review ongoing defence engagements and explore new avenues for cooperation," the ministry said.

The visiting deputy permanent secretary also called on Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh here.

Poh Kui Choon also visited DPSU Bhawan which is a new, state-of-the-art facility recently inaugurated by Defence Minster Rajnath Singh as a central hub for all 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings to foster collaboration, innovation, and showcase India’s defence manufacturing capabilities to the world.