India-Russia defence deals: AK-203 rifles to be manufactured in Uttar Pradesh

Russia and India today inked two big-ticket defence agreements, including one for manufacturing six lakh assault rifles, as defence ministers of the two countries held their first-ever direct dialogue in New Delhi.

The deal to manufacture AK-203 rifles at a facility in Amethi, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, was inked at the meeting between Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu.

They also firmed up renewal of the bilateral military-technical cooperation pact for 10 years -- from 2021 to 2031. 

The finalisation of the two deals came hours ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's arrival in New Delhi for in-person summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the two are expected to oversee inking of altogether 10 agreements in defence, space, trade, technology and energy sectors, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

After meeting Shoigu, Rajnath tweeted: "India deeply appreciates Russia's strong support for India. We hope that our cooperation will bring peace, prosperity and stability to the entire region."

In another Twitter post, he wrote, "Glad that a number of Agreements/Contracts/Protocols were signed pertaining to small arms and military cooperation."

Rajnath said he had "a productive, fruitful and substantial bilateral discussions on defence cooperation with the Russian Defence Minister. India values its special and privileged strategic partnership with Russia."

Foreign Ministers of India and Russia S Jaishankar and Sergey Lavrov also had a separate meeting ahead of Putin's arrival.

Speaking on the occasion, Jaishankar said the timing of today's meeting is significant because it comes at a "critical juncture in the global geopolitical environment which is in great flux, especially in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic."

"As close friends and strategic partners, India and Russia have been working together to safeguard our common interests and to ensure peace, progress and prosperity for our peoples," he added.

Jaishankar said India-Russia ties "have been close and time-tested" and "in a world that has changed so much, they have been exceptionally steady."

The Indian Foreign Minister said the Covid-19 pandemic has raised questions about the current model of global affairs but the long-standing challenges remain even as new ones emerge. Prominent among them are terrorism, violent extremism and radicalization.

He said the situation in Afghanistan has wider repercussions, including for Central Asia.