The 21st session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military & Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) was co-chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov in Moscow on December 10. Rajnath Singh emphasised that the India-Russia relationship is very strong and has lived up to the responsibilities of a special and privileged strategic partnership. He added that the ties have further strengthened with the recent exchanges including two visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia during 2024.
Rajnath Singh voiced the Government of India’s determination to extend the capabilities of its domestic defence industry across domains and industrial collaboration. He stressed on new opportunities for enhancing participation of Russian industries in the ‘Make in India’ projects. He reiterated India’s commitment towards Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership with Russia.
The Russian Defence Minister emphasised on deepening the relationship between both the countries which is based on mutual trust. He congratulated Rajnath Singh on the commissioning of INS Tushil. He further stated that the operationalisation of Military Technical Cooperation agreement for 2021-31 will give necessary impetus to ‘Make in India’. Rajnath Singh invited Minister Belousov to visit India to co-chair the 22nd session of IRIGC-M&MTC in 2025. The invitation was accepted.
At the end, the two Ministers signed the protocol of the 21st IRIGC-M&MTC meeting highlighting the ongoing and prospective areas of cooperation.
Prior to the meeting, Rajnath Singh inspected the Guard of Honour at the Russian Defence Ministry in Central Moscow. Earlier, he laid a wreath at ‘The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier’ in Moscow to honour the memory of the Soviet soldiers killed during the Second World War.
