New Delhi, Mar 3 (IANS): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday held a telephonic conversation with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant, the first between the two senior leaders.

After congratulating Gallant on his appointment as the Defence Minister of Israel, Singh underlined the Government of India's priority for indigenisation and domestic manufacturing of defence equipment under the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' initiative, according to the Defence Ministry.

Singh acknowledged the cooperation of Israeli industries towards nurturing a vibrant and world-class defence manufacturing ecosystem in India, and invited Israeli industries to deepen their investments in joint ventures with Indian companies with an aim to identify areas for collaboration, particularly in niche technologies.

He also expressed pleasure at the signing of some important MoUs between Indian and Israeli companies during the recently-concluded Aero India 2023.

The Defence Minister of Israel highlighted the positive role played by India in the region and conveyed his government's keen interest in enhancing the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Both ministers affirmed their commitment to further deepen bilateral defence relationship under the framework of 'Vision Statement' adopted last year, a Defence Ministry official said.

Last month, Singh had held a telephonic conversation with UK Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace. According to the Defence Ministry, the conversation was cordial, positive and focused on future growth of the bilateral defence relationship.