MOSCOW, June 6 (AVN) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov is expected to meet Indian Foreign and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh here on Wednesday morning to discuss military and technical co-operation, a competent source in Ivanov's ministry told the Military News Agency.
The meeting will involve Mikhail Dmitriyev, deputy defence minister and chairman of the Russian committee for military and technical co-operation with foreign states, Fleet Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov, Navy commander, Army General Anatoly Kornukov, Air Force commander, Colonel General Leonid Ivashov, head of the Defence Ministry main international military co-operation department, officials of the Rosoboronexport state-owned arms trader and several defence industry enterprises, the source said.
The parties are planning to discuss strategy of further co-operation in the military and military-technical spheres that was elaborated at the session of the intergovernmental commission for military-technical co-operation on Tuesday. The commission is co-chaired by Singh and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov.
Singh and Ivanov are also expected to consider implementation of the bilateral military-technical co-operation programme for the period until 2010, as well as several joint projects, including development of the five-generation attack fighter and of the IL-214 multirole military transport plane. This two-engine jet will be capable of carrying 15 to 18.5t of cargo or about 80 paratroopers. The planned cost of a production plane is to make USD12m-15m.
The largest Russian-Indian projects are the contracts on construction of three Project 1135/6 frigates and 40 SU-30MKI Flanker planes and licensed production of T-90S tanks in India. An agreement on the sale of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier to India is expected to be signed in late 2001.
The total value of current Russian-Indian contract in the sphere of arms trade has reached USD10bn. The two nations have signed contracts worth over USD35bn in the 40 years of their military-technical co-operation.
The signing of the protocol summing up results of the intergovernmental commission's first session started at President Hotel in Moscow at 9.00 Moscow time (0500 GMT) on Wednesday.