India, Russia Hold Talks to Boost Defence Cooperation

• India and Russia pledged to strengthen defence cooperation
• Officials evaluated ongoing projects and progress
• Both sides explored new areas in technology, training, and knowledge exchange

During the 5th Meeting of the Working Group on Military Cooperation of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC), senior officials from the Indian and Russian armed forces reiterated their intention to boost their bilateral defence relations.

The meeting that took place at the Manekshaw Centre from October 28 to 29, 2023, was said by the officials to be mainly looking back on the defence cooperation plans that had been already existing and at the same time opening up the new ways for collaboration and knowledge-sharing.

The Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) on X stated, "Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to elevating the India-Russia #DefenceCooperation, paving the way for focused engagements, enhanced training exchanges and new initiatives under the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership".

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The session was Co-Chaired by Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, and Lieutenant General Dylevsky Igor Nikolayevich, Deputy Chief of Main Operations, Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia.

It said, "The discussions focused on strengthening the ongoing defence engagements between the two sides and mulled on new initiatives under the ambit of the existing bilateral cooperation mechanism".

According to the Ministry of Defence, the Working Group acts as a pivotal platform to facilitate the military partnership between the two countries through the regular interactions between the Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters of India and the Major Directorate of International Military Cooperation of Russia.

The talks were focused on assessing the existing joint projects, pointing out the new tech collaboration areas, and increasing the defense relations understanding. Each party voiced their contentment with the gotten results and underlined their common goal of broadening the strategic interactions in the areas of training, technology transfer, and development of capabilities.