India and Russia signed an agreement on Monday for a joint production of over six lakh AK-203 assault rifles. At a cost of around Rs 5000 crore the rifles will be manufactured in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi for the Indian armed forces. Four agreements were signed during the meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation, the meeting was chaired by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with Russian Minister of Defence General Sergey Shoigu.
2+2 Meet | Key points
1. Both the countries signed four agreements, protocol and contracts. A pact on amending the agreement on cooperation in the field of manufacturing of the Kalashnikov series of small arms dated February 2019 was signed.
2. A contract to manufacture 6,01,427 AK-203 assault rifles was also inked between the two countries.
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3. The two countries signed an agreement to extend military technology cooperation for the next decade, i.e. from 2021 to 2031. Rajnath Singh and General Sergey Shoigu also signed a protocol of the 20th India-Russia inter-governmental commission on military and military-technical cooperation.
4. India also raised issue of 'unprovoked aggression' by China in the 2+2 meet with Russia, according to news agency PTI
5. Rajnath Singh termed India- Russia relations as time-tested, based on common interests and long standing.
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