NOVO-OGARYOVO. Nov 3 (Interfax) - Russia should increase the competitiveness of its weapons, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with senior officials from Rosoboronexport, Rostekhnologii, the Defense Ministry and the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation to mark Rosoboronexport's tenth anniversary.
"The formation of this company allowed us to take stock of everything that is occurring both in our defense industry and trade in special equipment and armaments, to get rid of inefficient overlapping and disintegration of forces. This should reduce costs and, at the same time, significantly increase the competitiveness of our Russian arms makers," Putin said.
Rosoboronexport played a big role in creating new weapons and re-equipping the army and the navy, Putin said.
The company can broaden its opportunities, the prime minister said. At the same time, there are problems to be solved, for instance, increasing the quality of supplied products, improving post-sale maintenance and further upgrades of products, Putin said.
Also, there should reliable protection of Russian intellectual property, he said. "Dishonest competitors who are trying to appropriate the rights to our weapon brands must be ousted from markets," he said.
There should be a more flexible policy aimed at advancing high-tech products to foreign markets, Putin said. "We must preserve and consolidate our leading positions," he said.