Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister, Colonel General Aleksandr Fomin, held a meeting on Wednesday with Vinay Kumar, India’s Ambassador to Russia, during which both sides discussed ways to further intensify the multifaceted India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.
“During the talks, the sides discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation in the defence sphere and confirmed their focus on further strengthening specialised cooperation within the framework of the particularly privileged strategic partnership,” read a statement issued by the Russian Defence Ministry.
“The meeting took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere, which is traditional for Russian-Indian relations,” it added.
India has a longstanding and wide-ranging cooperation with Russia in the field of defence, guided by the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MMTC), headed by the Defence Ministers of both countries.
As time-tested partners, the two countries have been involved in several bilateral projects, including the supply of S-400 air defence systems, licensed production of T-90 tanks and Su-30 MKI fighter jets, supply of MiG-29 and Kamov helicopters, acquisition of INS Vikramaditya (formerly Admiral Gorshkov), production of AK-203 rifles in India, and the joint development of BrahMos missiles.
New Delhi and Moscow acknowledge that military-technical cooperation has evolved over time from a buyer-seller framework to one involving joint research and development, co-development, and joint production of advanced defence technologies and systems.
Meanwhile, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is also in Moscow, holding meetings with senior Russian officials to discuss India-Russia defence and security cooperation.
–IANS