Russian defense official calls minister Shoigu’s itinerary in India tightly packed

NEW DELHI, October 26. /TASS/. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had a tightly packed itinerary during his visit to India, as it focused on the implementation of the accords the Russian and Indian leaders reached at a summit in mid-October, Deputy Defense Ministry Anatoly Antonov said here on Wednesday. "The itinerary of the visit was tightly packed," he said while speaking to reporters about the visit that was held on October 25 and October 26. Shoigu had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held talks with Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar on bilateral cooperation in defense and related technologies, as well as on regional and international security. "As part of the 16th session of the Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission on cooperation in defense-related technologies, the two Defense Ministers summed up the results of activity in 2016 and mapped out the tasks for collaboration in this sphere, which is traditional for our two countries," Antonov said. He called the atmosphere of all the meetings, sessions and talks amicable, adding that the sides had agreed to make accent on the implementation of practical steps. Also, they reached agreement on continuing joint exercises of units of various branches and services of the Russian and Indian Armed Forces. "Sergei Shoigu’s visit to Delhi was a practical continuation of the agreements the sides reached during President Vladimir Putin’s trip to India on October 15-16, 2016," Gen Antonov said. Read more