India approves Rs 5,000 cr AK 203 rifles deal with Russia ahead of Putin's visit: Sources

In a key development, the Centre has given its final approval to a nearly Rs 5,000 crore deal to manufacture over 5,00,000 AK 203 Kalashnikov rifles by an Indo-Russian joint venture at a manufacturing facility in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, official sources said on Saturday. The mega-deal is expected to be formally announced at a summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Delhi on Monday, they said. 

The Russian President will reach India on December 6. Putin's last visit to India was in 2018 for the annual summit, and t was scheduled to visit again in 2020, however, his visit was cancelled owing to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

MEA exudes hope of India's 'intensive engagement' with Russia

Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday exuded hope of very 'intensive engagement' taking place with the country. Addressing the media, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that there will be a series of meetings.  "We foresee a very intensive engagement during the day and culminating with the Summit," said the MEA spokesperson. 

"The day will begin with Defence Minster and Russian counterpart co-chairing intergovernmental commission. External Affairs Minister will have a bilateral meeting with their Russian counterpart," Arindam Bagchi said. "It'll be followed by an inaugural meeting of the newly instituted 2-2 dialogue mechanism at the level of Foreign & Defence Ministers. The 21st India-Russia Annual Summit will be held in the afternoon," the MEA spokesperson added. During the summit, PM Modi and President Putin will review the state and prospects of bilateral relations between the two nations and will discuss ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries. 

What is expected of India-Russia Summit? 

It is learnt that the two sides are going to firm up a number of agreements in the areas of defence, trade and investment, and science and technology at the summit. A framework for military-technical cooperation will be renewed for the next decade at the summit. India and Russia have also reached the final phase of negotiation for a logistics support agreement and it is likely to be signed during the summit. The pact will allow militaries of the two countries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation. Also, a joint commission on technology and science will be announced.