Russian-Indian military-technical cooperation based on strong foundation - India’s president

NEW DELHI, May 7. /TASS/. The Russian-Indian military-technical cooperation is built on a strong foundation and now includes joint research, design, development and production of advanced defence systems, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee said ahead of his trip to Moscow in an exclusive interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman. "The BrahMos supersonic missile project is a vivid illustration. We would like to apply this experience to other defence platforms and equipment," the Indian president said. The Make in India initiative provides exciting new opportunities for India-Russia collaboration in setting up manufacturing facilities in India for Russian weapons systems, their sub-assemblies and components, Mukherjee said. "We had discussed this with President Putin, who responded very warmly to this approach. We are also putting in place more active service-to-service exchanges, training cooperation and regular military exercises," he said. The Indian president said New Delhi’s relations with Moscow "cover a wide canvas, including cooperation in multilateral fora and consultations on global security issues and regional developments." "On all of these, we have similar perspectives. The threat of terrorism in our shared neighborhood is a matter of common concern. We work together in G-20 and BRICS to promote our shared interests. We look forward to Russia steering BRICS as its chairman this year. India has also been participating in the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as an Observer," he said. The head of the largest country in South Asia is due to visit Moscow on May 7-11 to participate in the celebrations on occasion of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet campaign against Nazi Germany. Read more