India has invited Russia to take advantage of the Make in India initiative in defence manufacturing,
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in New
Delhi on January 21. In a meeting between Russia's
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Parrikar, the two countries also decided to
hold regular review of ongoing projects. The meeting came following the meeting
between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin here
last month. "We have also invited
them to come to India
and join ventures in manufacturing here, including spare parts for the various
platforms we are using. "We have a substantial quantum of Russian equipments;
so for that requirement of spares can also be generated here," Parriakr
told reporters on the sidelines of an event. The minister said discussions
included the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircrafts (FGFA), preliminary design agreement
on which was signed in 2010 between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russian
Sukhoi Design Bureau to build the jet for use by both countries. "We
discussed all issues including FGFA.
Wehave decided to fast track many of the issues. There were some apprehensions
in slow speed in execution and the first thing we have decided is to speed
things further," the minister said. Defence ministry officials, meanwhile,
said India and Russia have
agreed to hold interactions at regular intervals to conform to project
deadlines and carry forward the defence cooperation between the two countries. The
two defence ministers resolved to carry forward the understanding reached
during the summit meeting in order to further strengthen the special and
privileged strategic partnership between the two countries. "The two sides
reviewed the entire gamut of defence cooperation. They expressed confidence
that the cooperation would be taken forward and be further strengthened,"
an official statement said. The two ministers also discussed possible future
areas of cooperation in high technology defence platforms as well as armament for
the three services. Besides signing the agreed protocol, the two leaders also
witnessed the signing of an agreement on exchange of Flight Safety Exchange
Information.
