Argentina to Procure Advanced Light Helicopters from HAL

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Argentina's Ministry of Defence on Thursday signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) on productive cooperation and acquisition of Light and Medium Utility Helicopters for Argentinian armed forces.

The LoI was signed by Argentinian Defence Minister Jorge Taiana, HAL Chief Managing Director (CMD) C B Ananthakrishnan in the presence of Argentina Secretary of International Affairs Francisco Cafiero, Ambassador Hugo Javier Gobbi Ambassador Dinesh Bhatia and other senior officers from the Argentinian side and HAL, as per an official release.

The Argentinian Defence Minister remarked that the day was interesting and a step on the road to an ever-growing and strong collaboration with HAL.

CMD HAL and other senior officers of HAL briefed the visiting dignitaries on various activities of HAL and a presentation was made on the occasion.

Argentinian Defence Minister and his team viewed the flying display of various HAL products at HAL Airport.

The team also paid a visit to LCA, Helicopter Divisions and evinced keen interest in HAL products, as per the release.

Argentina's Defence Minister Jorge Enrique Taiana on Monday arrived in New Delhi on a four-day visit.

Taiana on Tuesday held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart Rajnath Singh and announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between both countries and the signing of a Specific Agreement on Academic Cooperation for peacekeeping.

Taiana also invited Minister Singh to the II Latin American Conference of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (ALCONU) that will take place in Argentina on September 12.

In a press statement, Argentina's Defence Minister said, "We are here to perfect and deepen the agreements we have and sign some others. One of them is a Memorandum of Understanding that is richer in content and concrete possibilities than the one currently in force.""I think we have a concrete opportunity in the field of Defense, where we can give a quality leap in cooperation between the two countries," he added.

Earlier, on Tuesday, Jorge Taiana laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in the national capital and paid homage to the fallen heroes.

The Argentinian Defence Minister visited BrahMos Aerospace and is scheduled to interact with leading think tanks in Delhi. (ANI)