'Disinformation at Best': India Rejects Reports Claiming Turkish Defence Export Ban

New Delhi: Dismissing reports which claimed that Turkey has imposed a ban on military export to India, Ministry of External Affairs of India (MEA) said, "it is disinformation at best".

For the unversed, media reports were claiming that Turkey imposed a 'blanket ban' in terms of defence exports to India, in favour of Pakistan, further straining its diplomatic relations with India.

While addressing reporters, Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson of MEA, said " As far as my knowledge is concerned and information is concerned, that information is not good. So I will refer you to please take that question to the Turkish Embassy who can for short give you an answer because it is a post which generated in Turkey. To my understanding, to the best of my knowledge, it is disinformation at best."

The reports had claimed that a Turkish government official disclosed the information the ban during a closed-door session in the their Parliament. Several media reports suggested that Turkey has essentially put India on a blacklist for weapons exports.

The diplomatic ties between Turkey and India have drastically worsened over the past decade under the leadership of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The primary cause behind the strained ties is said to be policy decisions, particularly Ankara's unwavering support for Pakistan in its conflicts with India.

Defence Production in India Hits Record High

Nevertheless, New Delhi wouldn't have been affected even if this ban was imposed as it has already terminated weapons shipments to Ankara and struck off a $2 billion naval deal with a Turkish defence company.

Given India's strategic efforts in realising the 'Make in India' vision in the defence sector, the production of domestic weapons and ammunition has reached a record high in recent years.

In Financial Year 2022–2023, the defense output was worth Rs 1,08,684 crore. Over the last five years, or from 2019 to 2022, the value of defence manufacturing soared by over 60%.

Of late, India has also expedited its defence exports. Notably, defence exports reached a new high of Rs 21,083 crore in FY 2023–24, up 32.5% against Rs 15,920 crore in the previous fiscal year.