India, Russia agree to extend military cooperation for 10 years

New Delhi, Oct 15 (ANI): India and Russia are likely to sign two major agreements to boost defence cooperation between the two countries during Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's visit to Moscow later this year.

Decks for the signing of the two agreements were cleared today during the ongoing visit of Defence Minister AK Antony to Moscow.

The first agreement will be on extending the Military Technical Cooperation for ten years from 2011 to 2020 and the second relates to After- Sales Product Support for Defence Equipment of Russian origin.

The outlines for the two agreements were hammered out during the 9th Meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) which concluded in Moscow today. The two-day meeting was presided over by Antony and his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov.

The Commission also reviewed the status of two major projects for joint design and development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) and the Multi-Role Transport Aircraft (MRTA).

Both the Defence Ministers expressed the hope that the recent rounds of consultations between technical experts on both sides would result in greater progress in these projects.

The Russian side assured of continuing technical support and technology transfer in accordance with the agreed schedules for the indigenous production of T-90-S tanks and SU-30MKI fighter jets in India. Shri Antony stressed the need to ensure that there were no slippages in these projects. n the sale of the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, both sides agreed that the cost negotiations would continue to find a mutually acceptable solution.

The Commission also reviewed issues relating to defence supplies in a number of other projects in detail.

The Russian side responded positively to India's request to expedite proposals for setting up facilities for modernisation, repair and overhaul of military aircraft including MiG-29-Upgrade in India. (ANI)