NEW DELHI: Africa is a focus area in a move by India to bolster and rationalise its military diplomacy in key regions across the world, with defence attachés being sent for the first time to Mozambique, the Ivory Coast and the Philippines, people familiar with the matter said.

As part of this move, India will also post defence attachés for the first time to Poland, whose importance as a security partner in Europe has increased in recent years, and to Armenia, with which the Indian side recently concluded a big-ticket arms deal, the people said on the condition of anonymity.

After a gap of several decades, India will also post a defence attaché in Ethiopia. India had a military officer at the mission in Addis Ababa during the term of Mengistu Haile Mariam, who came to power in the mid-1970s. A new military attaché is also being posted to Djibouti and will be only the second officer to hold the post.

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The move to increase India’s military diplomacy footprint in Africa dovetails with efforts by New Delhi to substantially increase its engagement with countries of the continent in areas ranging from trade and investment to education and defence and security.

Under the external affairs ministry’s plan to set up 26 new missions around the world, 18 are being set up in African countries. India also played a crucial role in leading efforts to make the African Union a member of the G20 during last year’s summit of the world’s largest economies in New Delhi.

“These postings will send out a message that Africa matters. They will also open up possibilities for military cooperation and arms sales at a time when many African states are working to modernise their militaries,” one of the people cited above said.

As part of efforts to rationalise the deployment of defence attachés, the Indian side is set to pare down the number of military officials posted at missions in Russia and the UK, the people said. As new posts for military attachés cannot be created because of financial constraints, officers freed up through such rationalisation efforts will be deployed to countries that have become more important in terms of defence and security cooperation.

For instance, one of the two officers freed up by the rationalisation exercise in the UK is expected to be posted as the first defence attaché to Poland. In the past, the Indian defence attaché in the Czech Republic was responsible for handling military ties with Poland.

The move to post defence attachés for the first time to the Philippines and Armenia follows the Indian side’s sales of weapons systems to both countries. In 2022, the Philippines signed a deal worth almost $375 million to acquire three batteries of the BrahMos cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia. The same year, Armenia became the first foreign customer for India’s indigenously developed Pinaka rocket launcher.

The Indian side has usually had a sizeable number of officers from the army, navy and air force in Russia, especially to oversee the implementation of arms deals. The figure till recently was about 10, including four from the navy. However, with Russia only engaged in a deal to build two frigates for the Indian Navy and no other big deals on the horizon, a decision was made to rationalise the posting of defence attachés in Russia, the people said.

Defence attachés play a crucial role in several spheres.

In friendly nations such as Russia and the US, they are closely involved in efforts to acquire new weapons systems and military hardware and also help shape military-to-military cooperation in areas such as joint exercises and training. In adversarial nations such as China and Pakistan, they are involved in gathering information and keeping a close eye on the latest developments in military and security issues.