Military officials from India and Russia held discussions on “new initiatives” to bolster bilateral defense cooperation, an Indian Defense Ministry statement said on Wednesday.
The discussions took place as part of the two-day third working group meeting on military cooperation of the Indian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) in New Delhi.
It was co-chaired by Lieutenant-General Johnson P Mathew, the chief of integrated defense staff (CDS) to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), and Lieutenant General Dylevsky Igor Nikolaevich, who is the deputy chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff in the Russian Armed Forces, the statement noted.
Technical Cooperation Pact
The pact on renewing the military-technical cooperation between India and Russia until 2031 was signed during the maiden India-Russia 2+2 meeting in New Delhi in 2021.
The 2+2 meeting was attended by the foreign and defense ministers of both the countries.
The IRIGC-MTC, established in 2000, is co-chaired by the two defense ministers. It comprises two working groups and nine sub-groups, according to Indian government records.
According to a brief on India-Russia Defense Cooperation published by the Indian Embassy in Moscow, the IRIGC-MTC is geared towards “research and development” and after-sales support of various pieces of military equipment.
It described defense cooperation as an "important pillar" of the strategic ties between the two nations.
The Indian Embassy says that the two countries are currently involved in “licensed production” of T-90 tanks and Sukhoi Su-30-MKI aircraft, as well as the upgrading of MiG-29 jets, among other defense projects.