Ladakh standoff figures in Rajnath Singh's talks with Israeli counterpart

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday held a telephonic conversation with his Israeli counterpart Lt Gen Benjamin Gantz during which India's border row with China in eastern Ladakh figured prominently, government sources said.

The main focus of the talks was speedy implementation of ongoing defence procurement programmes as well as further expansion of overall defence and security ties between the two countries, they said.

The sources said Singh apprised Gantz about major reforms initiated by India in the defence manufacturing sector and called for greater participation of Israeli defence firms in joint-development of weapons and military hardware with Indian companies.

The border row between India and China figured in the conversation, they said without elaborating.