Defence cooperation most important pillar of India-Russia ties: Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that defence cooperation is one of the most important pillars of the India-Russia partnership, which is time-tested, based on a common interest in multilateralism, global peace, prosperity and mutual understanding and trust.

“Defence cooperation is one of the most important pillars of our partnership. I hope the India-Russia partnership will bring peace to the entire region and provide stability to the region,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in his opening remarks during a meeting with Russian Defence Minister General Sergey Shoigu.

Rajnath Singh also said that the annual India-Russia Summit amidst today`s emerging geopolitical circumstances will once again reconfirm the critical importance of a special strategic partnership between the two nations.

"India and Russia relations are time-tested, based on a common interest in multilateralism, global peace, prosperity and mutual understanding and trust."

Addressing the India-Russia 2+2 interministerial dialogue, Singh said, "The India-Russia defence engagements have progressed in an unprecedented manner in recent times. We hope Russia will remain a major partner for India in these challenging circumstances."

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met their Russian counterparts Sergey Lavrov and General Sergey Shoigu, respectively.

During the bilateral talks with Lavrov, Jaishankar said, "India-Russia partnership is unique. We are very conscious that in a world of rapid geopolitical changes, it has in fact been remarkably steady and strong."

In his opening remarks at the meeting, he said, "I would like to also take the opportunity to underline that we are very satisfied with our bilateral relations and the state of our cooperation." Jaishankar also said that the annual India-Russia summit is a unique event, adding that that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President President Vladimir Putin share a relationship of great trust and confidence.

"The annual summit is taking place after a gap of two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are looking forward to some very significant outcomes from the summit," the External Affairs Minister added.

During the meeting between Rajnath Singh and General Shoigu, the two countries signed a number of agreements, contracts and protocols covering small arms and military cooperation.

India and Russia signed the agreements for the procurement of 6,01,427 assault rifles AK-203 through Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt Ltd, under the military-technical cooperation arrangement for 2021-31. Another agreement was signed on Protocol on amending agreement on cooperation in the field of Kalashnikov series small arms manufacturing dated February 18, 2019.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, PM Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin will begin the summit talks at 5.30 PM.