Russia on Wednesday backed India in its fight against terrorism and reaffirmed its support to tackle the scourge by boosting India’s defence capabilities and providing cutting edge technology. This assurance came during visiting Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Russian counterpart General Sergey Shoigu talks in Moscow. Singh is in Russia on a three-day visit started on Tuesday.
Giving details of the talks between the two leaders held under the aegis of the 19th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC), Defence Ministry officials said here Singh held in-depth discussions on a range of international issues of common concern. Shoigu briefed Raksha Mantri on Russian
operations in Syria.
The Russian side reiterated its strong support to India in the field of counter-terrorism and stated that it accords priority to New Delhi’s security interests in the region. The Russian Defence Minister underlined Moscow’s commitment to extend all possible support in enhancing India’s defence capabilities, including cooperation in advance and cutting-edge technology. Singh appreciated Russia’s steadfast support.
Welcoming Singh on his maiden visit to Russia, Shoigu termed India as an exclusive strategic defence partner. Singh emphasised that the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two countries was further strengthened following the Vladivostok Summit in September 2019.
He highlighted the importance of the Inter-Governmental Agreement on manufacturing of spares, components and aggregates in India through joint ventures that would reduce cost, timelines of supply and result in progressive indigenisation. This agreement is expected to provide a major boost to the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Responding to his invitation, the Russian Defence Minister assured robust Russian participation in DefExpo 2020, to be held in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow between February 5-8, 2020.
The Russian side affirmed its readiness to operationalise the joint venture lndo-Russia Rifles Private Limited for the manufacture of world class Kalashnikov AK 203 rifles in India at the earliest. The factory was set up in Uttar Pradesh some months back and will manufacture these rifles for the army to begin with and then para-military forces and the police. The total cost of the joint venture is about Rs 7,000 crores.
The two Ministers reviewed the progress of the two working groups on Military and Military Technical Cooperation. It was agreed that the forthcoming tri-service Indra Exercises will be a major milestone in military cooperation between the two countries.
Both sides expressed satisfaction on the progress in implementing ongoing contracts concluded in the recent past. Russia also agreed to Singh’s request to constitute specific working groups for after-sales support of key defence platforms. The ministers directed the respective teams to work closely for early conclusion of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Agreement on Reciprocal Logistics Support.
As a special gesture, the Russian Defence Minister requested Singh for participation of an lndian military Contingent in Army Parade on the occasion of 75th anniversary of the victory in the Second World War. Russian President Mr Vladimir Putin has already extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the celebrations. He also assured that an Indian contingent would be participating in the Parade.
Singh will visit St Petersburg on Thursday on the final day of his visit to Russia. His engagements include wreath laying at the Piskarevsky Memorial Cemetery there.