Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday met his Russian counterpart General Sergey Shoigu in Moscow. Wherein the duo discussed about strengthening defence and strategic cooperation between both the two countries.
Taking to Twitter, Singh termed his talks with Shoigu as excellent.
Excellent meeting with the Russian Defence Minister General Sergey Shoigu in Moscow today. We talked about a wide range of issues, particularly how to deepen defence and strategic cooperation between both the countries, he said in a tweet.
The two sides, according to an official statement, spoke about the Indra naval exercises off the Malacca Straits and emphasised the “common interests of both countries in maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region”.
According to sources, Rajnath Singh also discussed the situation at Line of Actual Control (LAC) with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu.
Earlier on Thursday, India and Russia finalised a major deal for manufacturing AK-47 203 rifles in India, the official Russian media reported.
Singh also pressured Russia to accelerate the supply of many weapons systems, ammunition and spare parts to India under earlier agreements.
“Raksha Mantri Shri reached Moscow on a three day visit to Russia. He was received by Ambassador (D. B. Venkatesh Varma) and Major General Bukhteev Yury Nikolaevich at the airport,” the Indian embassy tweeted. He “will be attending Joint Meeting of Defence Ministers of SCO, CIS and CSTO member states.”
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the Indian Embassy here on Thursday.
“Offered flowers at Bapu’s statue in the Indian embassy in Moscow. My tributes to Mahatma Gandhi,” Singh tweeted. Singh was accompanied by Indian Ambassador to Russia D B Venkatesh Varma.
The Defense Minister will also attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) here on Friday in which Defense Ministers from eight member countries will participate. The meeting is expected to discuss regional security challenges like terrorism, extremism and ways to deal with them in a united manner.
