India, April 10 -- Africa is a focus area in a move by India to bolster and rationalise its military diplomacy in key regions across the world, with defence attaches being sent for the first time to Mozambique, the Ivory Coast and the Philippines, people familiar with the matter said.

As part of this move, India will also post defence attaches for the first time to Poland, whose importance as a security partner in Europe has increased in recent years, and to Armenia, with which the Indian side recently concluded a big-ticket arms deal, the people said on the condition of anonymity.

After a gap of several decades, India will also post a defence attache in Ethiopia. India had a military officer at the mission in Addis Ababa during the ter...