Article Posted on : - Feb 22, 2017

ABU DHABI/NEW DELHI (PTI): India's billionaire businessman Anil Ambani has evinced interest in partnership with firms from UAE for defence manufacturing.

Ambani met UAE Prime Minister and Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Monday on the sidelines of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference, IDEX 2017 – one of the biggest international defence shows underway in Abu Dhabi.

Discussions covered business opportunities for both sides, particularly in the defence sector, sources said.

Prospects of partnership and collaboration between Indian and UAE companies were discussed so as to provide a boost to the defence production in both the countries, they said.

The meeting followed Ambani's Reliance Defence recently signing MoU with Strata Manufacturing, the advanced composite aero-structures firm, wholly owned by Mubadala Development Company of the United Arab Emirates.

The two firms have collaborated to explore mutual cooperation in the field of advanced aerospace manufacturing capabilities between India and the UAE.

The agreement will deepen the bilateral ties developed between the UAE and India at both political and economic level.

The potential partnership between Reliance Defence and Strata, which follows extensive discussions between the two companies, will look at opportunities in the production of Carbon Fibre Composites Aerostructures, Prepegs as well as 3D printing of aerospace components and airframe panels. This collaboration is in line with Strata's vision to become one of the top aerospace companies globally.

The Dhirubhai Ambani Aerospace Park, located at the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN), is being considered by Reliance Defence Ltd for a new facility to support its aerospace ambitions, and forms part of the emerging aerospace industry in India.