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Russia remains India's leading military supplier: President Putin

By FnF Desk | PUBLISHED: 13, Oct 2016, 15:02 pm IST | UPDATED: 13, Oct 2016, 19:49 pm IST

Russia remains India's leading military supplier: President Putin Moscow: President Vladimir Putin has said Russia remains one of India's leading suppliers of advanced weapons and defence technology as "India is Russia's especially privileged strategic partner".

"Our countries actively collaborate in the military technical field. Russia remains in the lead in terms of both direct supplies of most advanced weapons and military equipment and conducting joint researches with India, as well as producing goods for military purposes," Putin told Sputnik in an exclusive interview ahead of his visit to India for the five-nations BRICS Summit in Goa this weekend.

"The construction of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile and the development of a new, fifth generation fighter aircraft are mong the successful joint projects," Putin said.

He said many of the Russian projects in India not only have commercial importance but also play a significant social and economic role for the economies of the two countries.

Putin said such projects "harmoniously fit in the new Indian industrialisation programme", a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" initiative.

"Russian companies see real prospects and high attractiveness of the Indian market" Putin said.

The Russian leader stressed that Russia-India projects are highly important for the economies of both countries, particularly for industry development in India.

"Let me add that many of the Russian projects in India not only have commercial importance but also play a significant social and economic role for the economies of the two countries. They harmoniously fit in the new Indian industrialization program proposed by [Indian Prime Minister] Mr. [Narendra] Modi," Putin said.

Russia and India have maintained a close partnership in military and technical cooperation for decades. India remains the largest importer of Russian weapons. According to the Center for Analyses of World Arms Trade, Russian- and Soviet-made arms account for about 70 percent of the Indian defense forces' total arsenal.

According to Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), Russia supplied weaponry and military technology worth $4.7 billion to India in 2014, while in 2013 that figure stood at $4.78 billion.
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