Rajnath-Shoigu meet: India, Russia sign small arms, military cooperation pacts

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday held an interaction with his Russian counterpart General Sergey Shoigu to discuss strategic cooperations and joint manufacturing of military equipment.

Singh said he had "productive, fruitful and substantial bilateral discussions" on defence cooperation with the Russian Defence Minister. "India deeply appreciates Russia's strong support for India. We hope our cooperation will bring peace, prosperity and stability to the entire region. Glad that a number of agreements/contracts/protocols were signed pertaining to small arms and military cooperation," Singh said in a statement.

He also said India "values its special and privileged strategic partnership with Russia".

Both Shoigu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had arrived in India on Sunday night as part of the '2+2 dialogue' between India and Russia.

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The next meeting of the Russian ministers and Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the day. Both the countries are expected to ink various pacts on expanding cooperation in areas of defence, trade, energy, technology and investment.

The top leaders will also discuss the issue of Afghanistan during their 2+2 and foreign ministerial talks.

Before the summit began, India had approved a mega AK 203 Kalashnikov rifles deal worth Rs 5,000 crore with Russia. Under this Indo-Russian joint venture, around 5 lakh AK 203 Kalashnikov rifles will be manufactured at Korwa, Amethi.

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