ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/. India wants to manufacture Russian arms on its own territory, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India in the Russian Federation Pankaj Saran said on Thursday.

"Defense cooperation has been a traditional pillar of our cooperation," Saran said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. "India today wants to move away from a simple ‘buyer-seller’ relationship with Russia to relationship in which we co-produce, we manufacture and essentially we make in India," he added.

"And we want Russia’s help to manufacture and to organize our defense industry. And efforts are on in this direction, and the initial indications are very promising. A large number of Indian public companies, public sector companies are showing great interest in partnering with Russian defense enterprises. And if we move in that direction, then certainly we are again looking at the new stage of our cooperation in the defense field," Saran concluded.