India, Russia to enhance military-technical cooperation

India and Russia have proposed to further their traditionally close military and technical cooperation through regular bilateral contacts and the joint INDRA exercise to be conducted by the armies of the two countries in October 2013.

BrahMos is the world's fastest cruise missile.

Both countries have emphasised the scope for enhancing service-to-service exchanges, training cooperation and regular exercises.

The 13th meeting of the Russian-Indian Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation is scheduled to be held in Moscow later this year.

India and Russia are currently engaged in the joint design, development and production of high-technology military equipment and the construction of the fifth-generation fighter aircraft, multi-role transport aircraft and BrahMos supersonic missiles.

The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of rocket, missile and naval technologies and weapon systems.

India took delivery of the Russian-built frigate Trikand in 2013 and has undertaken licensed production of Su-30MKI aircraft and T-90 tanks in India. Russia has also announced successful completion of the trials of the refitted aircraft carrier Vikramaditya.

Both sides affirmed the need for combined efforts by all states to defeat terrorism. They condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and agreed that there should be no tolerance for sheltering, arming, training, or financing of terrorists.

They also called for a speedy conclusion of the negotiations on the draft UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. The sides also agreed to continue to address these issues in the format of the bilateral Joint Working Group on Countering International Terrorism.

The two sides expressed concern at the growing threat of the use of information and communication technologies for criminal and terrorist purposes, as well as other purposes that are inconsistent with the UN Charter.

India and Russia have agreed to closely cooperate in strengthening security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, based on universally accepted principles and norms of international law, openness, transparency and equality.

The two sides said they considered the East Asia Summit (EAS) a key forum for strategic dialogue between leaders of member states on pressing issues as to the political and economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Russia commended India's active participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as an observer state and reiterated its strong support for India`s bid for full membership of the SCO.

The two sides said they are committed to further intensifying political interactions among China, India and Russia. In this context, they attached great significance to the next meeting of the foreign ministers of the three states, which is to take place this November in New Delhi.

Russia reiterated its support to India's accession to APEC upon achievement of consensus within APEC on expansion of its membership.

The two sides expressed commitment to further strengthening the ASEAN Regional Forum, a key tool for practical cooperation in maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, to increasing its contribution to the global effort to combat terrorism and cross-border crime, including in the field of ICTs.

The sides considered it necessary to extend the sanctions regime introduced by the UN Security Council against the Taliban as one of the most important tools for fighting terrorism.

India and Russia stressed the regional aspects of terrorism and extremism and emphasized the necessity of joint and coordinated efforts and cooperation between the states of the region, especially taking into account the expected drawdown of international forces in 2014.