Until the beginning of the new millenium, Indo-German Defence Cooperation mainly focussed on the armament sector. A new momentum in the bilateral military and strategic relations was achieved in 2006, when German Defence Minister Dr. Franz Josef Jung and his Indian counterpart Mr. Pranab Mukherjee signed an Agreement concerning Bilateral Defence Cooperation between the two Ministries of Defence (MoD).

The agreement envisaged a deeper cooperation regarding security and defence issues including the exchange and training of military personnel, greater cooperation with regard to the development of joint defence productions as well as increased technology transfer.

A High Defence Committee (HDC) meets once per year, co-chaired by the state secretary of the German MoD and the defence secretary of the Indian MoD. Besides ensuring a regular strategic dialogue the HDC approves programmes which entail about 30 to 40 projects per year.