India on Monday signed four agreements with Russia in the first 2+2 meeting between the foreign and defense ministers of the two countries, and the talks included a mention of Chinese aggression by New Delhi. COVID-19 global pandemic.
So far, India has held a 2+2 format of meetings with the member countries of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) – the US, Japan and Australia.
The ministers’ meeting on Monday took place on the sidelines of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi for summit talks with the Prime Minister. Narendra Modi,
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday met his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu and the two sides signed two contracts for the manufacture of around 600,000 AK-203 rifles under a joint venture in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi. The deal worth over Rs 5,000 crore was cleared by the government a few days back.
In addition to the Kalashnikov Rifles agreement, the two countries also signed the Protocol of the 20th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technology Cooperation and Military and Military Technical Cooperation for the next decade from 2021 to 2031. IRIGC-M&MTC).
Singh said he raised the issue of China’s aggressive stand on the northern border during his meeting with Shoigu in New Delhi.
“The pandemic, the extraordinary militarization and weapons expansion in our neighborhood and the completely unprovoked aggression on our northern border since the summer of 2020 have presented many challenges,” he said. “India is confident of overcoming these challenges with its strong political will and the inherent capability of its people,” the Indian Defense Minister said.
The 2+2 meeting was preceded by the IRIGC-M&MTC meeting, where Singh led the Indian delegation. This included the Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat, Chiefs of the three Services and other senior officials of the Defense Ministry.
Singh lauded Russia’s “strong support for India” and said their close cooperation was not targeted against any other country. He said that defense cooperation is one of the most important pillars of the bilateral partnership. The IRIGC-M&MTC “has a well-established mechanism for the past two decades” and “provides a forum to discuss and implement a mutually agreed agenda for defense cooperation”.
Separately, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and said they were meeting at “a turning point in the global geopolitical environment”, especially in the “post-Covid-19 pandemic”.
“Our discussion today will address the emergence of multipolarity and rebalancing as we look at the consequences of hyper-centralized globalization. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised questions about the current model of global affairs, but long-standing challenges are here. Even as new ones emerge, chief among them are terrorism, violent extremism and extremism. The situation in Afghanistan, including Central Asia, has wide-ranging consequences… Hotspots exist in the Middle East. Maritime security and security is another area of shared concern We both have common interest in this ASEAN centrality and an ASEAN driven platform,” Jaishankar said.
Lavrov said that both Russia and India have a “similar worldview of a more multi-centred, more multipolar, more equitable world order”.
During 2+2, Singh said his ministry urged for greater military cooperation, including research and production. “Separately, we proposed greater engagement in Central Asia and the Indian Ocean region.”
One of the big-ticket defense deals between the two countries involves the purchase of five units from India S 400 Triumph air defense system, the delivery of which has already started. A deal worth US$5.5 billion was signed in 2018.
Russia has been one of the largest arms exporters to India. Even Russia’s share in India’s arms imports fell by more than 50 per cent in the last five-year period as compared to the previous five years (2011-2015). According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks the global arms trade, over the past 20 years, India has imported weapons and weapons worth US$35 billion from Russia.
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