Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Defence
India, Russia to Renew Military Technical Cooperation for next decade
DEFENCE TIES EVOLVING FROM BUYER-SELLER TO A BROADBASED PARTNERSHIP, SAYS ANTONY
New Delhi: October 15, 2009
Defence Minister Shri AK Antony and his Russian counterpart Mr. Anatoly Serdyukov chaired the 9th Meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) which began in Moscow on October 14, 2009. In his opening remarks to the two-day meeting, Shri Antony said India and Russia have an enduring strategic partnership and defence ties. He described Russia as a time tested and dependable friend of India.
Shri Antony emphasized that the Indian Government was determined to strengthen the bond in all areas of bilateral relations. He noted that over the years defence relations between India and Russia have evolved from a simple buyer-seller relationship to a broadbased partnership where both countries are involved in joint design, development and production of defence equipment. Taking note of the structured mechanisms for defence interactions with Russia, Shri Antony said that Russia is the only country with which India has such a well established multi-tiered mechanism which has contributed to the strengthening of bilateral ties.
The IRIGC-MTC meeting reviewed the status of various ongoing bilateral defence cooperation projects. A protocol highlighting the various aspects of these projects was signed at the conclusion of the two-day meeting. Both sides reiterated the commitment of the Governments to extend the ongoing programme of military technical cooperation for a further ten years, from 2011 to 2020. Shri Antony and Mr. Serdyukov expressed the hope that the Inter-Governmental Agreement in this regard would be signed during the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's visit to Moscow in December for the India-Russia Summit. Both sides also resolved that an Agreement on after-sales product support of Russian origin defence equipment held by the Indian Armed Forces would be signed during the forthcoming Summit.
The Indian delegation to the two-day IRIGC-MTC meeting included the Defence Secretary Shri Pradeep Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Raj Kumar Singh and other senior officials of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces.
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