NEW DELHI. Nov 29 (Interfax-AVN) - Prospects of Russian- Indian cooperation is the main theme on the agenda of an international seminar entitled Indian-Russian Strategic Partnership in the 21st Century that opens in New Delhi on Friday.
"The seminar being conducted in New Delhi on the eve of President Putin's visit therefore assumes major importance to create awareness in strategic communities of both countries about the importance of further boosting the multi dimensional scope of partnership to our mutual benefit," Bharat Verma, a leading Indian military expert and publisher of the Indian Defense Review magazine, told Interfax-Military News Agency.
The seminar is attended by Andrei Nikolayev, defense committee chairman in the State Duma lower house of Russian parliament, Viktor Komardin, deputy director general of the Rosoboronexport state-owned arms trader, Alexander Kadakin, Russian ambassador to India, Dr. Nikolai Yevsenkin, co-chairman of the Russian-Indian Strategic Forum, and other famous experts from Russia and India.
"This Track II diplomacy and get-together helps not only in fine-tuning our relations but adds enormously to the existing awareness within India," he said.
"Long standing relationship built in military technical cooperation between the two countries shows the level of trust at each end. This is the underpinning that assumes importance in strategic partnership," Verma said.
"High level of trust and mutual understanding can be observed from the fact we moved from a buyer-seller relationship to transfer of technology and now we enter the phase of joint R&D, joint ventures in manufacturing and joint exports too," the expert said. As an example, he mentioned the SU-30MKI multifunctional fighter. Indian enterprises are mastering mass production of this plane.
"SU-30MKI, the 4th generation plus aircraft incorporates the best of talent of both countries," Verma said.
"That is only possible when two nations enjoy sufficient understanding and mutual trust in each other as well as have the requisite skills to share. In fact, Indo-Russian partnership is an alternative model of the prevalent one of Anglo-Saxons. Such cooperation in this highly specialized area provides a competitive edge internationally," he noted.