India, Russia to Establish Working Group on Technological Cooperation in Defense

India and Russia have decided to set up a working group on technological cooperation in defense for the purpose of technology transfer and joint manufacturing of equipment in India.

This is part of a joint statement released at the end of a bilaterial meeting between Indian Prime Minister Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow yesterday.

Military and military-technical cooperation has been a cornerstone of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia, bolstered by the Intergovernmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC), as per the statement.

Both sides expressed satisfaction with the ongoing defense and military contacts, including a recent meeting between defense ministers in New Delhi in April 2023 during the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting, and joint exercises conducted by the armed forces of both countries. They agreed to hold the 21st round of the IRIGC-M&MTC in Moscow in the second half of 2024.

In response to India's pursuit of self-sufficiency, the partnership is shifting towards joint research and development, co-development, and joint production of defense technology and systems. Both nations confirmed their commitment to maintaining the momentum of joint military cooperation activities and expanding military delegation exchanges.

The official statement emphasized the importance of military and military-technical cooperation and highlighted the regular defense and military contacts, such as the recent meeting of defense ministers and joint military exercises.

The statement also mentioned the focus on joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates, and other products for the maintenance of Russian-origin arms and defense equipment. This initiative will be carried out under India's Make-in-India program through technology transfer and the establishment of joint ventures. These efforts aim to meet the needs of the Indian Armed Forces and facilitate subsequent export to mutually friendly third countries.

“ROSOBORONEXPORT's activity in India is a vivid example of a comprehensive industrial partnership within which joint projects for all services of the armed forces have been implemented, with a degree of cooperation between the enterprises of the two countries that is unique in the world market,” Alexander Mikheev, General Director of the special export company ROSOBORONEXPORT, said.