MOSCOW. Nov 3 (Interfax-AVN) - The establishment of the Russian arms exports agent Rosoboronexport in November 2000 reinforced the positions of the Russian producers of weapons and military hardware on the international market and increased exports of military products from Russia, Rosoboronexport General Director Anatoly Isaikin said.
"Rosoboronexport annually increases its exports by $500 million to $700 million on average. As a result, exports of military products through the Rosoboronexport channels have grown virtually by 150% in the past ten years. With the 2010 results taken into account, the volume of foreign currency received this way significantly increases $60 billion," Isaikin said.
The number of countries where Rosoboronexport exports weapons has significantly increased over the past years to about 70, Isaikin said. "While earlier a principal amount of transactions were concluded with India and China, which accounted for up to 80% of all exports, now Algeria, Venezuela, Vietnam, Malaysia, Syria, and other countries have joined them and become major importers of Russian weapons as well," he said.
The Russian arms export monopoly is actively working to enter new markets, Isaikin said. "These are, first of all, Latin American countries. Contracts have been signed and are being implemented with Venezuela, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, and Cuba. There are preconditions for exporting weapons to Chile, Bolivia, and Central American countries," he said.
Rosoboronexport is also expanding mutually beneficial cooperation with countries of Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, he said.
Rosoboronexport is maintaining active military technological cooperation with CIS and CSTO countries, Isaikin said. "We offer significant privileges to our partners," he said.