RAS question
India and Israel signed a defence cooperation MoU in Tel Aviv in November 2025 at which Joint Working Group meeting?
Correct answer: (D) 17th Joint Working Group meeting.
India and Israel signed the defence cooperation MoU in Tel Aviv on 4 November 2025 during the 17th India-Israel Joint Working Group meeting on defence cooperation.
Explanation
The MoU was signed at the 17th meeting of the India-Israel Joint Working Group on defence cooperation, held in Tel Aviv on 4 November 2025. The PIB release states that the meeting was co-chaired by India’s Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Israel’s Director General of the Ministry of Defence, Maj Gen (Res) Amir Baram. The agreement was meant to give a unified vision and policy direction to the two countries’ defence cooperation. Its listed areas include strategic dialogue, training, defence industrial cooperation, science and technology, research and development, technological innovation, artificial intelligence and cyber security, with an emphasis on sharing advanced technology and promoting co-development and co-production.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The cited PIB release identifies the Tel Aviv meeting as the 17th Joint Working Group meeting, not the 14th.
- (B) The MoU was not signed at the 15th meeting; the official release names the 17th meeting as the venue for the signing.
- (C) The 16th meeting is not supported by the source, which specifically records the 4 November 2025 Tel Aviv meeting as the 17th JWG.
Concept
This tests current-affairs recall in India’s defence diplomacy, especially institutional mechanisms such as Joint Working Groups and MoUs. RAS repeatedly asks such facts because they link international relations with security cooperation and technology policy.