NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday held talks with his Russian counterpart Gen Sergey Shoigu and discussed ways to further boost strategic cooperation including expansion of joint production of military equipment.
Shoigu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived here on Sunday night to hold the inaugural '2+2' dialogue with their Indian counterparts.
After the '2+2' talks, the two Russian ministers will join President Vladimir Putin later in the day in his summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Russian Defence Minister, General Sergey Shoigu meeting Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in New Delhi," Singh's office tweeted along with a photo of the meeting.
India and Russia are set to ink a number of pacts to expand cooperation in key areas of defence, trade and investment, energy and technology at the summit.
In the summit as well as in the inaugural '2+2' defence and foreign ministerial talks, the two sides are also expected to focus on the situation in Afghanistan.
Officials said a number of a issues including ways to expand joint production of defence equipment figured in the Singh-Shoigu talks.
Ahead of the summit, India cleared the long-pending AK 203 Kalashnikov rifles deal worth nearly Rs 5,000 crore for production of over five lakh such rifles at Korwa in Amethi by an Indo-Russian joint venture.
The India-Russia partnership is unique and has remained remarkably steady and strong in a world of rapid geopolitical changes, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday during bilateral talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
Lavrov and Russian Defence Minister Gen Sergey Shoigu arrived here on Sunday night to hold the inaugural '2+2' dialogue with their Indian counterparts.
Ahead of the '2+2' dialogue, Jaishankar and Lavrov held bilateral talks.
"India-Russia partnership is unique. We are very conscious that in a world of rapid geopolitical changes, it has in fact been remarkably steady and strong," Jaishankar said in his opening remarks at the meeting.
"I would like to also take the opportunity to underline that we are very satisfied with our bilateral relations and the state of our cooperation," he added.
After the '2+2' talks, the two Russian ministers will join President Vladimir Putin later in the day in his summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"For us, the annual India-Russia summit is a unique event. Prime Minister Modi and President Putin share a relationship of great trust and confidence," Jaishankar said.
"The annual summit is taking place after a gap of two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are looking forward to some very significant outcomes from the summit," Jaishankar added.
India and Russia are set to ink a number of pacts to expand cooperation in key areas of defence, trade and investment, energy and technology at the summit.
In the summit as well as in the inaugural '2+2' defence and foreign ministerial talks, the two sides are also expected to focus on the situation in Afghanistan.
In his remarks, Lavrov referred to recent comments by Russian President Putin highlighting the significance of Russia's ties with India.
Lavrov said a "whole package" of significant documents have been drafted for signing at the summit.