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RF Def minister to discuss technical mil coop'n in India

The Russian Minister is expected to lay wreaths at the Eternal Flame of the Gateway of India memorial complex built in commemoration of the Indian soldiers
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

NEW DELHI, October 10 (Itar-Tass) — Russian Minister of Defence Anatoly Serdyukov arrives in India on Wednesday for a one-day official visit, during which he, together with his Indian counterpart, Arakkaparambil Kurian Anthony, will co-chair the 12th plemary session of the bilateral Intergovernmental commission for technical military cooperation.

The Russian Minister will be accompanied in the trip by a widely-representative delegation consisting of about 50 people. Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Technical Military Cooperation, and Viktor Komardin, Deputy General Director of the Rosoboronexport state corporation, will also arrive in India.

Upon arriving in New Delhi, the Russian Minister is expected to lay wreaths at the Eternal Flame of the Gateway of India memorial complex built in commemoration of the Indian soldiers who perished during various armed conflicts. After the wreath-laying ceremony, the Minister will hold talks with Arakkaparambil Kurian Anthony. On the Indian side, Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Head of the Defence Research and Development Organization, will also participate in the talks.

The session agenda includes items concerning a discussion of a number of matters relating to Russia-India cooperation, including a possible delay in a handover of the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier (formerly the Russian air-capable cruiser Admiral Gorshkov), on which, according to Indian media reports, the main emphasis will be laid.

The principal purpose of the session of the Intergovernmental commission for technical military cooperation will be to analyze the results of implementation of the programme for technical military cooperation between Russia and India for a period until 2020. A Final Protocol is to be signed as a result of the session.