Africa outreach: India Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi visits Algeria

With focus on continuous engagement with Africa and the Mediterranean, Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi last month visited Algeria. In the last few years, India has increased its engagement with the North African country, with the visit of Indian President Murmu in October last year, followed by the visit of CDS Gen. Anil Chauhan.

Algeria which is keen to diversify its defence imports and could be an important market for India. According to SIPRI, which provides data on military expenditure, Algeria's defence spending hit a record $18.3 bn in 2023, which is the largest rise since 1974.

During the visit, the Indian Army chief met senior Algerian leadership, including General Saïd Chanegriha, Minister Delegate to the Minister of National Defence & Chief of Staff of the People’s National Army; Lieutenant General Mostefa Smaali, Commander of Land Forces. A statement by the Army said, "the discussions were aimed at aspects of bilateral Defence Cooperation, further nurturing the military bond between both the Armies and enhancing mutual commitment towards peace & security"

The visit from 25 to 28th August, aimed to further Army-to-Army cooperation, defence-industrial dialogue, training exchanges, and regional security discussions. Topics of conversation in the country also included Anti-drone systems and niche technologies, Joint capability development and defence-industrial links.

The visit comes as India is increasing its defence engagement with Africa, and also with the Mediterranean. In Feb 2024, in Mauritius, an airstrip & jetty was inaugurated in Agaléga built with Indian support. This year, first ever Africa–India maritime exercises AIKEYME 2025 were inaugurated with Tanzania being the co-host. Indian Navy ships have conducted exercises with the Algerian Navy- INS Tabar in 2021. INS Tushil made a port call at Casablanca in 2024. The increased engagement builds on PM Modi's recent visit to Africa- Nigeria, Ghana, Namibia.